Police say three people face criminal charges after officers found an 82-year-old woman with body sores and open wounds inside a Garden City home on Friday.
The woman, said Garden City police officer Barbara O’Neal, was taken to a local hospital for treatment and was in what medical staff describe as “grave condition.”
Georgette Denise Backman, 43, Steven Raymond Backman, 45, and Georgio Backman, 20, are being charged with cruelty to a person 65 and older, O’Neal said. Other charges are pending.
“It’s one of the worst cases I’ve seen,” said O’Neal, who investigates elder abuse cases for the city.
Police were called to 8 Lynn Drive on Friday on complaints of financial exploitation, elder abuse and neglect, O’Neal said. Officers were met at the two-story house by Adult Protective Services.
Inside, they found an 82-year-old woman whom O’Neal described as “essentially nonresponsive,” only grunting. Medics were called and she was transported to a hospital for treatment.
Flies and maggots were visible in the area where the woman was, O’Neal said.
The preliminary investigation indicates she had been sitting upright on a couch for weeks or longer, O’Neal said, adding that hospital staff are working with police to determine an exact time.
O’Neal said the woman did not appear to have in-home health care and the early investigation revealed she had not been to a doctor in nine months to a year.
The three adults in the home were arrested and face the cruelty to a person 65 and older charges. Two juveniles were taken to a neighbor’s home and Child Protective Services was called to relocate them.
On Friday night, detectives were on scene, and O’Neal said they would be working through the night. Police were working to obtain a search warrant to investigate the allegations of financial exploitation, she said. Investigators will be looking for the woman’s medications and examining sanitation conditions.
O’Neal said more charges are possible as the investigation continues.