Grandma Held Prisoner For Months

[bloodrayne]

Abuse Case Suspects Held Power Of Attorney Over Woman

Daphne, Alabama -- The husband and wife accused of keeping the man's grandmother locked in a room during the day for six months held power of attorney over the 80-year-old woman's legal and financial affairs, Baldwin County Probate Court records show.

The woman revoked that authority last week, according to a Baldwin County Probate Court document that identifies her as Eloise M. Ernandez.

The document indicates that on Sept. 23, 2003, Ernandez granted power of attorney to John William Johnson Jr., and made his wife, Angela Darlene Johnson, an alternate.

On Jan. 5 she signed papers saying that her grandson's power of attorney was "revoked and annulled," according to Probate Court records.

Power of attorney allows a person or persons to make decisions on behalf of another. Police have yet to comment publicly about a motive for the alleged mistreatment.

The couple is sought by police on neglect and false imprisonment charges and was at large when police publicized the investigation Wednesday. Police had not announced an arrest on Thurs day evening.

The search has focused on Mississippi, authorities said.

An on-line database for federal court documents reflects that a John W. Johnson Jr. of Forest, Miss., filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in February 1998.

Johnson and his wife are accused of keeping Ernandez hostage in her small room every day for about six months.

Police discovered Ernandez locked in the room on Dec. 23 after she broke a window and summoned help to her house. Daphne police have refused to give the address where the woman was found.

Investigators said that the woman told them she would be put in the room in the morning, and not let out again until the evening. The doors to the room were locked, barred and tied shut, according to police photos.

The couple would give her a sandwich every morning before they left, authorities said.

When police found Ernan dez, she was taken to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope. Lt. Danny Bell of Daphne police said she was doing all right now and was in the state's protective custody. Bell said she did not appear to suffer from severe physical or mental problems, such as Alzheimer's or dementia.

Police have declined to release her name, but Bell confirmed that investigators were aware of the power of attorney revocation. He declined to comment further on the document, which was discovered by the Mobile Register on Thursday.

While local authorities have not commented on the possible motive in this case, several experts in the field said elder abuse often occurs because of financial reasons, especially when the abuse is perpetrated by a family member.

Georgia Anetzberger, an assistant professor of healthcare administration at Cleveland State University, said her research into physical abuse of the elderly by adult children found that the perpetrators often were financially dependent on their victims.

It's also not uncommon for elder abuse to go on for a long period of time without anyone noticing, said Sara Aravanis, president of the National Center on Elder Abuse. Most cases go unreported, she said.

"For every case that gets reported, another five don't," she said.

There are several reasons for that, Anetzberger said, including that most perpetrators are family members, and that the crimes often happen out of public sight.

"The older you are, the more likely you are to be impaired, the less likely you are to be out and around, so people won't miss you," she said. "People probably think your family members will take care of you when in fact they're taking advantage of you."

[Gren the cake]

that is sad

[horror_master]

Verry sad indeed.