Three TN caretakers face elder abuse charges
Estill Springs police said the 87-year-old victim had open sores, was having trouble breathing and not responding to verbal stimuli.
ESTILL SPRINGS, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Franklin County Grand Jury indicted three adult caretakers on elder abuse charges surrounding an 87-year-old woman they were watching, the Estill Springs Police Department announced Wednesday.
Estill Springs police were dispatched to a home on Gaul Street in Estill Springs on Dec. 8, 2022, in reference to a medical call with the woman having trouble breathing and not responding to verbal stimuli. Police said there were three adult caretakers at the home who were assisting the victim. The caretakers told police the woman had not been acting normal for a couple of weeks prior to them calling for help.
When EMS arrived, officers helped paramedics move the woman from the chair she was sitting to the stretcher. When they moved the woman, officers and paramedics noticed a strong smell of ammonia coming from the victim. Officers also saw bed bugs in the chair where the woman was sitting. While moving the woman, an incontinence pad had fallen off her, exposing open wounds on the victim. Police asked the caretakers when the last time the patient had been changed, but no one was able to answer.
The woman was taken to a Tullahoma hospital where she died three days later due to her condition and neglect at home, according to police. Police said the autopsy determined she had passed away due to a gangrene infection from her gall stones. The woman also had three pressure ulcers on her buttocks and legs.
Police conducted an investigation and presented the results to the Franklin County Grand Jury. The grand jury determined there was probable cause to indict Ronald Wilson, 54, Jay Wilson, 52. and Jennifer Wilson, 52, with aggravated neglect of an elderly vulnerable adult. They were arrested on Tuesday and were each being held on $300,000 bond at the Franklin County Jail.
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