Tara O'Leary was always doing puzzles. At least that's what caseworker Bridget Grimes wrote in her reports whenever she visited the developmentally disabled woman at a state-licensed foster home in Bloomsbury.

"Tara was doing her usual thing, putting together puzzles," reads a July 2008 report.

What Grimes didn't write was that O'Leary was losing weight rapidly and living in a room that reeked of urine. The next month, a concerned relative was shocked when Grimes brought O'Leary to a nearby diner for a visit. O'Leary was dirty and thin, and her shoes were on the wrong feet, according to the family.

In fact, she was starving to death. By the time she was rushed to the hospital that September, she was severely underweight. She had bedsores and brittle nails, according to medical records, and her hair was falling out. She died in November 2008, weighing about 48 pounds at 28 years old.

The deteriorating conditions went unchecked by Grimes and the supervisors responsible for reviewing regular reports from the home. Documents reviewed by The Star-Ledger reveal inconsistencies and duplications in reports intended to be the guiding force in O'Leary's care. One report said she was ready for music lessons — completely impossible, critics say, given her mental and physical disabilities. But, they say, no red flags were raised.

Grimes' supervisor has not faced criminal charges but is suspended without pay as the state moves to fire her.

"There are so many people culpable for this," said Eileen Devlin, O'Leary's cousin. "It's an unbelievable situation where so many people had the opportunity to do the right thing and nobody did."

A lawyer for Grimes, Frank Whittlesey, also said the case reveals problems with the division [of Developmental Disabilities]. He said employees are overworked and can't adequately monitor all the people on their watch.

"Is there attention that there should be on each home? Probably not," he said. "Is that intentional on their part? I don't think it is."