Two caretakers arrested for neglect after elderly woman dies

GULFPORT -- Two women were arrested Friday for allegedly leaving a 66-year-old woman in their care to die inside a home infested with roaches, according to Gulfport Police.

• 2 caretakers charged with neglect
• 66-year-old woman found dead inside home
• Woman was living in "uninhabitable" conditions; house infested with roaches

Jennifer Poulos, 41, and Debra Poulos, 61, were both charged with neglect.

According to police, the 66-year-old woman was found dead inside an “uninhabitable” house located in the 5300 block of 29th Avenue South at about 8:31 p.m.

Police said the house was extremely cluttered and infested with roaches.

A neighbor, April McMahon, said she had not noticed any signs of possible neglect.

"The two or three times that I saw her out, the lady had her in a wheelchair, but it was almost like her legs were up and her neck was back," said McMahon. "You never seen her move an inch, not even her eyeballs."

Investigators say the two women were caretakers for the unidentified woman for the past eight months.  The caretakers left the woman alone and moved out of the house about 10 days before the police found the woman’s body.

Both women “intentionally failed to provide adequate care for the victim,” according to the report.

The victim has not been identified as police are trying to notify next-of-kin.

McMahon expressed shock at the entire incident.

"We live three apartments down, and I was like, 'how did we not know the body has been there?'"

The owner of the property did tour the apartment Saturday afternoon and reported that it was a total loss.

Jennifer Poulos’ four-year-old son was removed from her custody after police discovered that the child had been residing in the uninhabitable conditions for the past eight months.

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Two caretakers arrested for neglect after elderly woman dies