Amendments To The Elder Abuse And Neglect Act (Illinois, USA)

Amendments to the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act

DECEMBER 18, 2009...

The Elder Abuse and Neglect Act

By: Melissa Howitt, Attorney
Janna Dutton & Associates, P.C.

Effective January 1, 2010, amendments to the Illinois Elder Abuse and Neglect Act, 320 ILCS 20/1 et seq. will take effect. Here, we highlight:
the development of a program to target self-neglect, the amended provisions governing access to elder abuse records, and legal remedies under the Act.

Background: In 1988, Illinois enacted the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act under which the Illinois Department on Aging implemented the Elder Abuse and Neglect Program. This program was designed to respond to reports of abuse, neglect, self-neglect and exploitation of “eligible adults,” meaning those who are over the age of 60 years residing in a domestic living situation.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Dutton Elder Law.Com

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DA: Beware Elder Abusers (USA)

DA: Beware elder abusers

By Laurel J. Sweet

December 21, 2009

A highly educated and accomplished Lincoln couple married 63 years found out months before they succumbed to the ravages of old age that their longtime personal assistant had been stealing money from them.

“These people were smart, alert, engaged elders,” said Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr.

Leone founded the Safety and Protection For Every Elder Resident (SPEER) task force last year to combat the increasing number of economic predators preying on seniors in the suburbs.

Concord District Court Judge Peter Kilmartin last week banned Lettie McLeod, 52, of Tewksbury from ever working with the elderly or disabled again. He also ordered her to reimburse the Lincoln octogenarians’ five children $10,000 of the more than $65,000 prosecutors suspect she stole.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Boston Herald
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Elder Abuse Suspect Wanted By Police (GA. USA)

By WTOC staff

Dec 18, 2009 1

A suspect is on the run after impersonating a police officer and taking advantage of the elderly.

Police say this Leon Elmore was part of a group that ripped off an 84-year-old woman for more than $18,000 last month.

The man accompanied the woman to two Bank of America branch offices, November 17. The first $9,000 withdrawal was made at the Waters Ave branch. The man then took the elderly woman to the Mall Blvd. branch and withdrew an additional $9,000. 

Abridged
SOURCE:     WTOCTV
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Elderly Victims Confront Man Who Ran $11 Million Fraud (CA. USA)

By DENISSE SALAZAR

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

December 17, 2009

The sentencing for a San Juan Capistrano man convicted of bilking 124 elderly investors of more than $11 million in a Ponzi scheme will continue Jan. 4 in Orange County Superior Court.

Jeffrey Gordon Butler, 51, was convicted in June of 694 felony counts of stealing from elderly investors through the illegal sale of unqualified securities and filing false tax returns, according to court records. The case is considered one of the largest elder-abuse cases in the history of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

His wife, Peggy Warmath Butler, 49, was convicted of one felony count of aiding another in the preparation of a false tax return and three counts of filing false tax returns. She is being sentenced simultaneously.

Sentencing started Friday, but it is taking multiple days partly because of the number of defrauded investors who made victim-impact statements.

On Monday, Zelda Greger told the court she and her husband lost $230,000 to a man they trusted.

"Jeffrey Butler is a man who my husband and I trusted," she said. "How many other seniors did he do this to?"

Greger said she wants Butler to get a life sentence, which was a sentiment shared by many of the victims, victims' spouses and their children.

"I hope you'll consider keeping him confined for the rest of his life," Larry Schiel said in court. "I've never known a man who can look you straight in the eye and lie. He didn't show any compassion for his victims or what they've been through."

Kirk Ludwig said his father passed away in 2004 and lived his final days knowing his money was gone. "He was very, very sad," Ludwig said about his father, Kenneth Ludwig.

"I'm hoping he spends the rest of his life in jail," Ludwig said. "I do feel so sad for his children. It's sad that he has done this to his family. My heart goes out to them. They didn't do anything," he said in the courtroom gallery.

About 30 of the victims, some of whom are now deceased, testified via a two-hour video montage that was prepared by prosecutors. They told the court how being defrauded out of their life savings affected them emotionally, physically and financially.

Jake Yessian, 91, lost over $80,000. He said he has had to cut back on food and can't take vacations.

Abridged
SOURCE:      OCREGISTER

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Triad Helps Seniors (USA)

BY JUDY BASTIEN

DECEMBER 17, 2009

More than 550 older adults attended a workshop presented Wednesday at the Yambilee building by the Triad program. The workshop for people 60 years and older had its serious side and its festive side.

It began with a presentation on living wills and a talk by St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz on the various scams circulating, many of which target seniors.

"Recently, we've had calls from people about scams from Nigeria, Canada and other parts of the world, sending information to local residents, trying to get them to send money and information so they can access their bank accounts," said Tim LeDee, who organized the event on behalf of Triad, a partnership of the National Sheriffs Association, AARP and the Municipal Chiefs of Police Association.

Four such workshops are held each year in different areas of the parish, LeDee said, and the topics of discussion are often dictated by issues affecting the older population at that moment in time.

"Today, frauds and scams are the major crimes against the elderly," LeDee said.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The Daily World.Com

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Are Rest Home Residents Really Safe? (NEW ZEALAND)

Are rest home residents really safe?

17 December 2009

Press Release: Age Concern

Age Concern New Zealand Media release 17 December 2009

Are rest home residents really safe?

Rest homes audits alone can't guarantee vulnerable older people's safety; greater commitment to quality improvement and respect throughout the elder care sector is needed.

"The Auditor General's damning report shows that audits alone aren't going to keep older people safe," Age Concern chief executive Ann Martin says.

"A culture of respect, caring and empowerment needs to flourish in rest homes. All rest home owners need to commit to recruiting, retaining, and properly training quality staff and to embrace a culture of continuous quality improvement and care.

"Everyone has a role in improving quality, including the general public. If you know people who live in rest homes, visit them often. If you see something wrong, tell someone."

Age Concern says it could also be doing more to help rest homes and their residents but is held back by budget shortfalls.

Elder abuse and neglect prevention services provided by Age Concern offer training and advice to rest home carers and support to residents, but some miss out because Government won't fund a nation-wide service.

"It's a tragedy that some people facing elder abuse and neglect get less support because they live in the 'wrong' parts of the country," Ann Martin says.

"Rest home residents need someone to look out for them, but we know that some older people have no-one.

"Our Accredited Visiting Service Visitors are trained to look out for health issues whilst promoting social connection and other activities," Ann Martin says. "They could be providing supportive eyes and ears in resthomes if they were funded to do so.

"Problems can fall between the cracks when carers are busy –no-one notices the person isn't eating, is desperate for extras such as toiletries, or has untreated dental or medical problems till it's too late.

"Age Concern wants to do more and we hope Government will find a way of supporting us."

SOURCE:     Scoop.Co.NZ
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Man May Have Stayed With Mother's Body For 2 Months (MI. USA)

By Kristen Abraham
(12/16/09)

A son accused of murdering his own mother has been arraigned in Genesee County.

Jeff Ries, 35, was formally charged today.

Ries walked into the courtroom in shackles. He is charged with three felony counts: open murder, felony murder and first-degree elder abuse.

Police say he beat his mother, 62-year-old Irene Ries, to death, but won't say what type of weapon Reis used.

Detectives are still trying to figure out when the murder occurred. They say it's possible the body had been inside their Burton home on Appletree for at least two months.

Those who live nearby got worried when they no longer saw the woman. Police attempted several times to gain access, but couldn't until two days ago when they discovered an open door.

"Concerned neighbors called Burton police after not seeing the resident at the home.  Our officers made entry into the house that they believed that she may be in," explained Burton Detective Shawn Duncanson. "We found her there. He was still at the scene, arrested and taken back to the police department."

Ries' pretrial date is set for later this month.

Detectives say more on this case will be released at that time.

(Copyright ©2009 WJRT-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

SOURCE:    ABCLOCAL.GO.COM
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Alleged Scam Artist Caught Quickly After Photo Released(CA. USA)

Alleged scam artist caught quickly after photo released

By Eyewitness News staff

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. –

Police have arrested a man accused of preying on Good Samaritans.

Larry Maldonado was booked into Kern County Jail on Monday on suspicion of committing five counts of petty theft with a prior, five counts elder abuse, one count of burglary and an attempt of petty theft with a prior.

Maldonado was caught with the aid of a public tip after police released his photo earlier in the day. He allegedly scammed people out of money by telling them he needed help with serious family emergencies.

SOURCE:     The Bakersfield Now
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Grandmother's Attacker Found Guilty (CA. USA)

Grandmother's Attacker Found Guilty

12/14/2009

20-year-old Jeffrey Edward Nelson looked unemotional and sat motionless as a jury convicted him of attempted murder and torture of 76-year-old Natalie "Sandy" Herbst Vinge.

In December of last year, Vinge was kidnapped from her La Mesa home, beaten, and put in the trunk of a car. She was eventually saved by a Sheriff who pulled over her captors for a traffic violation. Vinge was able to make enough noise to get the Sheriff's attention, who helped free her.

More than a year later, Vinge has mostly healed from her bruises and is grateful she does not have to worry about Nelson returning to her door. "I'm so pleased because if they had let him go, I wouldn't have been able to live here, I'd have to move."

She thanked all her friends and family who helped her get through this difficult time. She also was grateful the jury did not take Nelson's side.

Nelson faces a sentencing hearing on February at the Courthouse in El Cajon. His accomplice Luis Osborne has a status hearing for his only trial scheduled for December 21st.

Abridged

SOURCE:     SanDiego6.Com

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Man From Philippines Wanted On Elder Abuse Charges (USA)

December 15, 2009

Donald Martin Steffensen, 70, of Saint George, Utah, has been arrested by California Department of Insurance (CDI) investigators and members of the Madera County District Attorney's Office after he was returned to the United States from the Republic of the Philippines to face 38 felony counts of grand theft and financial elder abuse.

According to CDI, Steffensen had been licensed as a non-residence life insurance agent but his license was revoked in Aug. 2006 after a CDI investigation revealed that his unethical investment advice had caused a partially disabled senior citizen to lose $165,000.

Subsequent to the revocation, CDI learned that Steffensen had used his position of trust as a life agent for a senior citizen (now deceased) to embezzle and convert for his own use more than $270,000 from an annuity owned by the senior. This crime occurred from 2002 to 2005 and some of the annuity distributions were allegedly stolen by Steffensen after his victim had passed away.

The Madera County District Attorney filed 38 felony counts of grand theft and financial elder abuse against Steffensen in April 2008.

Abridged
SOURCE:    Claims Journal.Com
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A Full-Time Carer's Experience in Caring for Mother (IRELAND)

'Working 365 days a year as a carer, I was on my knees with exhaustion'

December 15, 2009

BERNADETTE BRADY watched as dementia destroyed her mother’s memory, her personality, her ability to communicate, to recognise her loved ones and, eventually, to recognise her own face in the mirror. This is Bernadette’s story

I KNEW THAT something was wrong. I had observed subtle changes in my mother’s behaviour and memory over many months. If I am honest, I knew exactly what was wrong, but I was too terrified to acknowledge it. I didn’t need any scans or memory tests to confirm the diagnosis. Common sense and a little knowledge told me that my mother had dementia.

I tried to persuade myself that maybe I was overreacting. Perhaps the changes I was noticing were all just part of normal ageing? My mother was 77 years old at the time, even though she looked at least 10 years younger. She was a nurse, a highly intelligent, vibrant, extrovert with a photographic memory. She loved life and she was full of enthusiasm.

After her retirement she made a point of keeping her mind and body as active as possible. She was exceptionally fit and she walked several miles each day with our dog. She was an avid speed-reader and she worked her way through several tomes each week. Surely dementia could not strike someone with a mind like my mother’s?

How wrong I was. Dementia does not discriminate between the active, educated mind and the less active mind. It has no respect for intellect. It cares not about one’s love for life or one’s plans for the future. It is a cruel, relentless, destroyer of the brain.

It is now time that Ireland faced up to the nightmare of dementia as a matter of extreme urgency. It is time that carers were properly supported and helped to carry out their caring role. It is time that dedicated residential facilities were provided for dementia sufferers who need institutional care. It is time that these tormented, voiceless, vulnerable souls had their needs properly acknowledged and be provided with the specialist care that they so richly deserve.

Abridged
SOURCE:   The Irish Times

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Daughter Accused of POW-Like Treatment of Her Father (Ohio, USA)

Dec 14, 2009

Reporter: Randy Yohe

In one of the worst cases of elder abuse ever seen in our region, a daughter is now behind bars and her father is finally getting food and water.

Larry Looney got very little food and maybe a cup of water a day, and photos we received just skim the surface of the horror story.

Last Friday, Portmsouth Police arrested and jailed Ashley Looney on multiple elder abuse charges. Detectives say for about a year, she imprisoned her helpless, mentally ill father in a Scioto Trail home.

Police say shocked witnesses first discovered and took pictures. They finally reported that Ashley Looney locked and boarded up her 60-year-old father in a room where he was starved, beaten, bound and left for days at a time naked in his own filth.

Police say Larry Looney received $900 a month in Social Security, and Ashley cashed the checks. She has two small kids, and there's evidence they possibly were abused. They are now staying with caring relatives.

Scioto County Adult Protective Services workers say in the past year, adult abuse investigations similar to this have shot up by more than a third, and those are just the cases reported.

The charges against Ashley Looney include abduction, felonious assault and failing to provide for a functionally impaired person. Police say she acted disturbed when her father was removed from the home in October and denies doing anything wrong. 

SOURCE:    WSAZ.COM
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Guardianship Abuse: Who Guard the Guardians (AUSTRALIA)

By Andrew Chadwick

The Guardianship Board of any state or country has been mandated by law to help protect the vulnerable seniors. Unfortunately, there have been so many cases of mismanagement, fraud and acts of injustice perpetrated by these so called “protectors of the elderly” that it is beyond belief.

In the USA, many family members of those who experienced this sort of abuses, had to resort to putting up a web site to tell their experiences. There is even a National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse.

Media do not find this sort of cases “sexy” enough to want to write about.

There are no Guardianship Abuse in Australia?

WRONG!  It is just that the country do not want to acknowledge that such cases exist in their sunny country.

In 2006/7 There was a Parliamentary Inquiry into Older People and the Law. The report was published September 2007. In the report, the section on Guardianship and Administration - quoted a ‘Transcript of Evidence’ (p. 167) :

If done incorrectly, it has the potential to be a fundamental breach of human rights because you are taking away people’s ability to make their own decisions in their own lives, so we always adhere to the principles of finding the course of action that is least restrictive of the person’s freedom of decision and action, looking for a decision that is in their best interests, and principles are consistent across all states and territories, even though we have remarkably different laws between states and territories.

(footnote: Ms Anita Smith, AGAC, Transcript of Evidence, 5 June 2007, po.2)

That is the rhectoric. Now for the reality.

It is most disturbing that there are cases, supported by heaps of documentary evidence pointing to the inability of the state, in question, to stop what they have indirectly created.

TASMANIA:

 I have received ample documentary evidence relating to 2 such cases in that state. The 2 elderly lady do not have close relatives who can assist them in resolving the problems. A very determined old friend of one of these ladies, has contacted every authorities she could think of, but no one would look into the case.

CASE 1

1.  In 2006 an elderly widow (MB)  surgery on her knees. One of her friends (S) persuaded her to sign papers, giving that person Power of Attorney. According to MB, things started that took away her rights and freedom.
2.   .   Application was made to the Guardian Board of that state, to declare MB was suffering from Dementia and has“No Capacity”. On 16 June the GAB ordered that a guardian be appointed to take over MB’s affairs. That order was extended earlier this year, for another 3 years.
3. .   Another friend of MB (E) found that declaration hard to believe. She arranged for MB to see another specialist, for a second opinion.
4. Incredible as it seemed, that appointment was cancelled by the Guardianship Board. The GAB flatly refused to consider second opinion on MB.
5. MB (who cannot speak English fluently) had to rely on her friend (E) to try to find out how she could be declared demented and have no capacity to manage her own affairs.
6. MB has voiced her concerns, to E, about missing assets and ‘fire sale’ of some of her other assets. S, who held the Power of Attorney then, was charged with 15 counts of theft, and the case was moved to the Supreme Court. However, the case was later dismissed. MB was NOT informed of the reasons behind that dismissal.

8.   There is no doubt that MB has problems with language and mobility, but she is NOT Demented. This was documented by at least 2 other medical specialist, who conducted comprehensive tests to determine MB ability to make decisions.

9.   Subsequent medical reports on MB have proven that she was badly affected by some of the medications she was told to take by S. Apparently, S persuaded MB to take 'Vitamin tablets'.

   Those medications appeared to have affected MB's concentration. 


    The latest medical report on MB, dated 5 November 2009 has supported earlier reports that MB is NOT DEMENTED.

How can the GAB denied MB a second opinion?

There is injustice and wrong done to MB.

Hard to believe, but this is just an example of how arrogant and powerful a guardianship board can be.

Why none of the officials and politicians of that state that were contacted by E, on behalf of MB, refused to review the case is a mystery.
I have gone through a stack of documents, relating to this case. It has the all marks of GUARDIANSHIP ABUSE.

What would you do if you, or a loved one, experienced such treatments?

What if you do not have a family member or a close friend who could highlight your case?

Who Guard the Guardians? This is a question that must be answered by the government responsible for setting up the system.
Someone must be held responsible for the debacle borne out in the 2 cases.

Wake up Australia !

  

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$7.75 Million Awarded in Elder Abuse Case (USA)

$7.75 million awarded in abuse case

Elderly victim a patient at Fillmore facility

By Stephanie Hoops

Staff writer Kim Lamb Gregory contributed to this report.

December 11, 2009

A Ventura County jury Friday awarded $7.75 million to the family of a 71-year-old stroke victim who filed an elder abuse lawsuit against the Fillmore Convalescent Center.

The trial, which featured a secret videotape of the woman being abused, lasted 22 days. The jury deliberated for two days before announcing the verdict: $2.75 million in actual damages and $5 million in punitives.

In 2006, Maria Arellano, 71, was a resident at the center and family members noticed during a visit that she was bruised. They complained to management but alleged the center failed to investigate. So they set up a hidden video camera on a side table in her room.

Gregory Johnson, an attorney representing the family, said the camera caught employee Monica Garcia slapping Arellano, pulling her around by the hair, bending her neck, fingers and wrists, and treating her violently in a shower chair.

Garcia was criminally charged and pleaded no contest to simple battery in February, according to her attorney, David Lehr.

“She did 10 days’ work release and is halfway through,” he said. “My client was very sorry for her actions. She told the jury that. She’s no longer going to work in the nursing home environment, and this case has deeply affected her life. She wishes the Arellano family well.”

No one at the Fillmore Convalescent Center could be reached for comment late Friday. The center’s attorney, Thomas Beach, also could not be reached.

Abridged
SOURCE:    The VCStar

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Unlicensed Contractor Pleads No Contest To Bilking Elderly Couple (CANADA)

December 10, 2009

From Chelsea Phua:

An unlicensed contractor who was accused of bilking an elderly Sacramento couple of more than $180,000 and leaving their home in shambles will be facing 11 years in prison, authorities said.

According to a news release by the Contractors State License Board, Keith Lidell McGowan, 53, pleaded no contest on Tuesday to several charges, including financial elder abuse. He is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 8 before Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Cheryl Chun Meegan.

McGowan, a "two-strike" convicted felon who had served time in San Quentin for manslaughter, had his license revoked in 1996, authorities said.

McGowan approached Oliver Davis, 89, and his wife Patsy Davis, 70, in 2006 and offered to remodel their property. After collecting $252,650 from the couple and only performing $72,000 of work, McGowan abandoned the project in October 2007.

More than 150 volunteers donated $125,000 worth of materials and labor to help the couple rebuild their home, which they moved into recently.

"While justice has been served on McGowan, it's important to remember that the hardship continues for the victims, Oliver and Patsy Davis," said CSLB Registrar Steve Sands. "It's heart-breaking. Their life savings is gone."

CSLB officials advise consumers to check the license number of contractors on the agency's Web site at www.cslb.ca.gov  and not to hire the first contractor who comes along. They also advise consumers to solicit at lease three bids, check references and get a written contract, and don't let payments get ahead of work.

SOURCE:     SACBEE.COM
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Two Other Suspects In Elder Abuse Case (Michigan, USA)

Two other suspects in elder abuse case, 'rising tide' of abuse in Genesee County

By Laura Angus | Flint Journal

December 10, 2009

A home healthcare worker and another relative of Donald Turpin will also face charges for allegedly abusing the 78-year-old paraplegic man. 

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Janine Leff, a private health care worker, and Brittany Davis, another relative of Turpin's, will also face charged in the case. Mary Jo Davis, 66, of Burton has been charged with first-degree vulnerable adult abuse and embezzling $100,000 from her brother.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said there is a "rising tide of elder abuse" in the area that concerns him.

"This is a serious social problem that we have in our community in Flint and Genesee County," he said.

Pickell said he and Leyton plan to hold an elder abuse summit after the holidays to find new ways to protect vulnerable adults in the community. 

SOURCE:    MLIVE.COM

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Woman Charged in Another Elder Abuse Case (USA)

Woman charged in another elder abuse case

(WJRT)

(12/10/09)

A Genesee County woman is facing dozens of charges for allegedly embezzling up to $1.4 million from her elderly brother.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell says Mary Jo Davis had been her brother's guardian since he suffered a stroke nearly 10 years ago.


It's another case handled by the county's Elder Abuse and Exploitation Prevention Team. And Pickell say it is the largest to date.
Davis was charged in court Wednesday. She faces 35 counts including embezzlement, fraud and then first-degree vulnerable adult abuse, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

"The real hero in this case is the alleged victim's family physician," Pickell said.

Pickell says the doctor felt his patient, a 78-year-old Davison paraplegic with dementia and hypertension, was being taken advantage of.

Thousands of pieces of paper will help prove it, Pickell says. He says they're evidence of embezzlement and mistreatment.

"She's refused to follow doctor's instructions regarding his care," said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. "She has written checks to people totally unrelated to his care."

Investigators allege Davis spent some of the money on court costs for a man charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, her home repairs, new appliances and other items from Home Depot.

She also spent money on two vehicles and even a race car shop.

"Tthis guy had $700,000 we can't find. We're trying to find if the money wasn't either stashed somewhere or invested somewhere," Pickell said.

"That's a staggering amount of money. This thing, we think, could be as high as $1.4 million when we finish the investigation and we're still looking at maybe a few more possible defendants in this case."

Along with Davis, two others have already been charged -- another relative and a privately hired home health care worker.

(Copyright ©2009 WJRT-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

SOURCE:    ABCLOCAL.GO.COM
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Dementia Patients Killed By Drugs They Never Needed (

Dementia patients killed by drugs they never needed

December 10, 2009

Illnesses and deaths caused by the wrong meds are bad enough… but in Britain, 1,800 dementia patients die each year because they were deliberately given drugs that were never intended for their condition.

And don’t think it’s not happening here, too.

A report in Britain found that as many as 180,000 dementia patients have been given antipsychotic drugs, leading to those 1,800 unnecessary deaths.

Unnecessary, because dementia patients shouldn’t be getting these meds to begin with. These meds do practically nothing for the condition or the patient, yet they’re given out at nursing homes like candy corn at Halloween.

The British report found that of the 180,000 dementia patients on those meds, only 36,000 – one out of every five – got any benefit. I’m betting that most of those people got only a modest benefit at best – and one they could have gotten from better human care rather than drugs.

In fact, in both Britain and the United States, antipsychotic meds are not approved for use in dementia or Alzheimer’s patients. And you can’t find any real, high- quality research that supports the use of these deadly drugs in these patients.

But millions of dementia patients around the world are given these meds because it makes them docile and easy to control. In some cases, it turns them into zombies. And I hate to say it, but there are some nursing homes out there that like their patients that way.

It’s much easier than caring for alert human beings who simply need help and attention.

Abridged
SOURCE:   Health Revelations.Com
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Man Convicted of Killing His Mother Gets Life in Prison (CA. USA)

Man convicted of killing his mother gets life in prison
By Nancy Needham
December 10, 2009


Kenneth Price, 40, was sentenced this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder for killing his mother.
Linda Price, 67, lived at the Arroyo Villa Apartments complex on Via Petirrojo near Rancho Conejo Road. She worked for 12 years as the manager of the apartments, where she was beaten and strangled on July 26, 2008, by her son, a transient who camped in nearby open space. After she died of asphyxiation, Kenneth Price took his mother’s ATM card and withdrew money from her bank account.


Price was convicted by a jury in November of first-degree murder and found guilty of committing the murder during a robbery. Because of the victim’s age at the time of the murder, the jury also found Price guilty of elder abuse causing death.


Ventura County Superior Court Judge Patricia Murphy handed out the sentence.


After her death, Linda Price was remembered by residents and co-workers at the apartment complex as a warm and caring friend who loved her children, her grandchildren, her cat and flowers.


SOURCE:    TOACORN.COM
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Concerns About Council Cuts Affecting the Disabled and the Elderly (UK)

10th December 2009

By Scott McPherson

“This is a matter of life and death.”

Those were the words of one member of the public who spoke out at the heated Cabinet meeting last night were plans to plug Swindon Council’s £12m budget blackhole by slashing funding to some local services were discussed.

Among the catalogue of cost-cutting proposals are plans to reduce funding for Dial A Ride, the voluntary transport service for disabled and elderly people who struggle to travel, by £50,000.

Other cuts include turning off some street lights and cuts to youth centre funding.

Speaking at the meeting Mary Ratcliffe, a member of Action Against Elder Abuse spoke of her concerns.

She said: “I am deeply disturbed by two very serious issues that directly affect the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society.

“It is sheer hypocrisy to pay lip service to caring for the elderly to enable us to stay in the sanctity of our precious homes, whilst placing the Dial A Ride, and the Shop Mobility parking space under threat.

“Both facilities are absolutely crucial to the daily lives of so many amongst us.

“Alleviate the stress that you are causing and be there for us.”

Councillors took questions from a number of worried people who attended the meeting and were quick to point out that no cuts would be made to the Shop Mobility service.

Abridged
SOURCE:     The Swindon Advertiser, UK

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ELDER ABUSE: Older People Need Support, Not Ads (NEW ZEALAND)

By Gerry Brownlee,   John Carter, Liz Baxendine

 9 December, 2009

Government needs to get its priorities right, says Age Concern. They say there's no money for older people facing elder abuse but today they've announced a $15 million electricity marketing campaign.

"Money that could have been used to protect abused older people will go to ad agencies and consultants," national president Liz Baxendine says.

"Age Concern New Zealand was told yesterday by Government that there's no money for further elder abuse and neglect prevention services so some abused older people will have to go without.

"Yet today Gerry Brownlee announced a $15 million fund to promote customer switching between power retailers.

"Older people don't need an ad campaign. They are already good at shopping around for the best prices, because they have to. What they can't shop around for is an elder abuse and neglect prevention service. In seven key parts of the country there isn't one, because there's no money.

"It's time for Minister for Senior Citizens John Carter to do more to advocate for his portfolio," Liz Baxendine says. "Other Government ministers don't seem to have trouble getting funding for their projects.

"It's appalling that vulnerable older people in areas with significant senior populations aren't getting the support they need while Government funds ad campaigns."

SOURCE:   VOZY.CO.NZ


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