Geneva, Illinois Daughters Found Guilty of Elder Neglect Leading to Mother’s Death
A Kane County judge has found two sisters guilty of criminal neglect of an elderly person. The two defendants are Julie Barry, 48, and Jill Barry, 55. The elderly person was their mother, Mary Virginia Barry, 84, who died in 2007.
According to the Judge Allen Anderson, the two sisters may have intended to give their very sick and elderly mother the care that she needed but they failed to satisfy the standard that is considered a “good faith” effort that exempts caregivers from what is considered neglect. Anderson noted that “good intentions” do not equate to “good-faith efforts.”
On April 20, 2007, paramedics arrived at the home the two women lived in with their mother and found the 84-year-old in a demented state. She had aunts crawling on her and the sheets she was on had filth in them and she was suffering from severe dehydration. She also had bedsores on her back. One bedsore was so deep that hospital workers said they could see her vertebrae. The elderly woman, who had cancer complications and weighed approximately 80 pounds, died a week later.
At their criminal trial, the sisters said that they bathed and took care of their mother regularly. They said that their mother didn’t want to live in a nursing home or have a professional nurse come to their residence.
The Barry sisters’ sentencing hearing for their Kane County, Illinois elder abuse conviction is scheduled for October 9.
Elder Neglect in the Home
Unfortunately, nursing home professionals and other caregiver professionals are not the only ones who are known to commit elder neglect and abuse. Some elderly persons have been abused or neglected by loved ones who have been charged with their care. This can lead to fatal outcomes for the elderly person, who may have no one to turn to for help. Elder abuse can consist of physical abuse, failure to provide medical care, failure to feed or bathe the elderly person, financial exploitation, and other forms of abuse or neglect.
Daughters guilty of criminal neglect in mother's death, Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2009
Barry sisters found guilty of elder neglect
Related Web Resources:
Elder Abuse and Neglect: In Search of Solutions, American Psychologist Association
Abuse and Neglect of Elderly Persons by Family Members, PT Journal.org (PDF)
Chicago, Illinois elder abuse lawyer Steve Malman is strongly against any kind of elder abuse and he is committed to making sure that his clients receive Chicago elder neglect compensation for the harm that they suffered.
