Update: Elderly Mother Allegedly Locked in Homemade Crib at Redmond Home

Like Redmond Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our daily newsletter

Update: 3:30 p.m.: Police say the 65-year-old Redmond woman accused of unlawfully imprisoning and stealing from her elderly parents used a lockable homemade crib to confine her 89-year-old mother for up to 12 hours a day.

The daughter, who has not yet been charged in the case, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment and first-degree theft. Police say she stole more than $67,000 from her parents while neglecting the physical needs of both.

She was booked and released on her own recognizance, police said. Patch generally does not name those arrested until they are criminally charged.

Officer Michael Dowd told Patch the mother was kept confined in a "crib-like bed" at night (see photo), and strapped down to her wheelchair during the day, only being released to use the restroom. He said the parents stayed in their own apartment near their daughter's residence but declined to specify where in Redmond they were living.

The woman's 92-year-old father is blind and suffers from Alzheimer's, Dowd said, adding that it seems he was not confined like the mother was.

“I don’t believe that he was restricted as she was,” Dowd said.

The investigation began in 2011 when Redmond Police received word of a complaint that had been filed through the state's Adult Protective Servicesdivision. Dowd said he isn't sure who notified APS.

The RPD investigation focused on a time period between January 2010 and October 2011, Dowd said. During that time, police say the woman managed to steal $67,000 from her parents, both in the form of monthly withdrawals that were intended to provide for their care as well as checks written by the daughter.

Because the woman had power of attorney over her parents, Dowd said, it has been difficult for investigators to determine what money was in fact applied to their care and what money was stolen.

“She has some rights to the money to help the parents with their care. So our detectives have to determine whether the money was used (in that way),” he said. “It was a complicated case.”

The parents have since moved to an assisted-living facility in Monroe. Dowd said he believes they were probably removed from their daughter's care during the early stages of the investigation.

—Caitlin Moran

---

Original post: Many people who choose a power of attorney are taken care of respectfully. But, for two Redmond seniors, it almost cost them their lives.

In August 2011, Redmond Police Department received a welfare check request for an elderly woman. Detectives said they eventually uncovered that a daughter stole over $67,000 from her aging parents, who were suffering from dementia.

Additionally, Redmond police say they found the mother was strapped into her bed up to 12 hours a day, strapped into her wheelchair unless she needed to use the restroom, and neither parent had received proper food or medications despite the fact that their daughter was taking over $3,000/month to care for them. The monthly withdrawal rose for “cost of living increases” even though their home was already paid off.

The suspect, a 65-year-old Redmond woman, was arrested Tuesday for unlawful imprisonment and first-degree theft. She was listed as the couple’s power of attorney. Her 89-year-old mother and 92-year-old father are now living at an adult family care home in Monroe.

Patch generally does not name those arrested until they are criminally charged.

For more information about vulnerable adult abuse, click here. 

Source: Redmond Police Department.