Elders In Florida, May God Protect You.-

Lauren Ritchie November 28, 2007 Marion County.-Florida USA

The frail old woman lying on the bed weighed about 78 pounds. Her bony knees stuck out like doorknobs and skin dripped from her skeletal frame. Jeanne Vasa's landlord snapped a picture of her, capturing for posterity the vacant look beneath her frizzled, thin gray hair.Grainy photographs of the rest of the house where she lived show a place filthy and unfit for human beings.

The bathtub was filled with black trash bags, topped by dog excrement. Another bag sat in the sink. The bathroom was ripped apart -- pieces of drywall were scattered across the floor, and the walls were torn and moldy. Trash was strewn everywhere.

Two weeks after Warmuth saw her, Vasa was dead. But that didn't become known until the end of September, when a couple walking along North Austin Merritt Road near Okahumpka found her torso in a garbage bag, her legs chewed off by wild animals.

This is revolting. This is America. This does not have to happen here.

How Vasa died is undetermined. The 5th Circuit Medical Examiner's Office is waiting for reports analyzing her blood to return from a laboratory. Already, however, Marion County detectives have said they don't suspect foul play.

But these are the same people who also didn't suspect abuse.

An elder-abuse expert from California who viewed the pictures and listened to the 911 tape from the landlord was stunned that the deputy failed to help Vasa.

"Clearly, the deputy didn't have training either. Anyone can tell from the photos that she's not being cared for," Greenwood said.

Abridged for E.A. =>>

the writer goes on say "But Marion sheriff's officials are so busy defending their deputy's failure that their perspective on this case has become warped. With such a taint, they can no longer clearly evaluate whether a crime was committed and someone should be charged."

Lauren : When my mother Clara G. Fernandez and her friends got together after the horrific case of elder abuse and attempted to file, the Monroe County Deputies discredited her report because her hand was "shaking" when she signed it, furthermore she did not show any obvious signs of physical abuse. Never mind the fact that she was in a wheelchair as a result of her injuries (small details) however the abusers had held Clara in strict isolation for 12 months, giving her "obvious signs of physical abuse", time to heal.

Thank you for bringing up to the public's attention in Central Florida , something we have been doing for over three (3) years. Elder abuse is not considered a serious crime, drug victimless crimes often carry a heavier penalty and deputies are not trained to deal with elder abuse and consider it a "Civilly" matter.

"Why can Marion sheriff's officials not admit, in the face of photographic evidence, that they erred?." In the face of overwhelming evidence I have asked myself the same question over an over about The Monroe County Sheriffs and the DCF that handled our families pleas for help when my mother was abducted "Before" she was injured.

As far as the forensic report, I would not place too much stock on that either, my father Dr. A.J. Fernandez's death three days after his wife was returned to him, was never investigated.

according to Catherine C. McNamee a Social Science Analyst at the National Institute of Justice in Attitudes Hinder Investigations ;

"Researchers also identified a propensity for medical examiners and coroners to
exhibit ageism—a belief that focusing on nursing home deaths was “a waste of
their time and resources…because of the poor health status of most nursing home
residents… [who] would die anyway.”[8] These beliefs are major impediments to improvements in the forensic identification of elder deaths".

Lauren Ritchie, Welcome to the dark under world of elder and elder financial abuse the plague of the 21 century, it's just too bad that people have to wait until tragedy strikes before they realize that protecting our elders is Everybody's Business.

Related Posts:

Clara Family and Friends Meet to File Police Report

Police officers are rarely Trained to Investigate Elder Abuse

Most Police Officers Aren't Aware of Their Role When it Comes to Investigating Elder Abuse

Attempts to get help from Sheriff Office Before Clara was injured failed