“I’m so sorry that my actions have caused so much distress,” she said in a short statement.
“I pray with all my heart that Annie is in heaven. I ask for Annie’s forgiveness, knowing that nothing I say can ever bring her back.
“I will bear this guilt for the rest of my life.”
Smith passed away in hxjmtzywospital in April 2020 after being found in her home suffering septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe pressure sores and malnourishment.
The 54-year-old had been found to be living in squalid conditions in her own home, largely confined to a cane chair, while under the care of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
In the period leading up to the death, Maione had worked as her sole paid carer.
At an earlier court hearing, Smith’s family said there was some relief in Maione’s guilty plea.
“She’s finally stood up to be counted. But it’s too late,” the victim’s uncle Glenn Smith said.
Police previously alleged Ann Marie Smith died of serious criminal neglect and her death was preventable.
In May 2020, Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said Maione had apparently worked for years for employer Integrity Care SA without the proper State Government screening checks and approval, despite being stopped from working with Domiciliary Care in 2013, while it was still a state-run agency.
