An elderly woman who shared her house
with her 26-year-old great niece who was being
paid nine-hundred dollars a month by the state’s In Home Supportive
Services Program to take care of her was the victim of terrible neglect.When police were called to the home in December they found the woman curled up on the floor, deceased.
“At the time of her death she was weighing less than 40 pounds.
Evidence she was not being taken care of properly at the time,” said police. The autopsy report said the woman died of starvation,
and sepsis, a severe infection from numerous bedsores on her body.
“Officers at that time
determined it was a case of elder abuse and arrested the great niece of
the victim. She was released from custody and subsequent to that we
conducted an investigation we determined we had a severe case of elder
abuse and we requested additional charges,” said the detective.
The great niece who was supposed to be the woman’s caretaker was re-arrested Wednesday. The charges against her include Involuntary Manslaughter, Elder Abuse, along with
perjury and forgery for claiming pay for care police say she clearly did not provide. For more, read the story.
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Robert W. Carter,
Jr. is a Virginia attorney whose law practice is dedicated to
protecting the rights of the victims of nursing home and assisted
living neglect and abuse in Richmond, Roanoke, Norfolk, Lynchburg,
Danville, Charlottesville, and across Virginia.
