World's oldest person dies in Los Angeles at 115

The Associated Press: World's oldest person dies in Los Angeles at 115

LOS ANGELES — Gertrude Baines, the world's oldest known person, died Friday at a nursing home. She was 115.

Baines likely suffered a heart attack but an autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death, said her longtime physician, Dr. Charles Witt.

"I saw her two days ago, and she was just doing fine," Witt told The Associated Press. "She was in excellent shape. She was mentally alert. She smiled frequently."

Born in 1894 in Shellman, Ga., Baines claimed the title of the world's oldest living person when a 115-year-old woman, Maria de Jesus, died in Portugal in January.

The oldest person in the world is now Kama Chinen, 114, who lives in Japan, according to Dr. L. Stephen Coles of the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks claims of extreme old age. Chinen was born May 10, 1895, Coles said.