Indictment returned in case of elderly Augusta man found in meth home

A 16-count indictment was returned by the Richmond County grand jury Tuesday in the case of an 88-year-old man found in frail condition in a dirty house reeking of methamphetamine.

The indictment names Julia Squires Hunter, 16, John Arden Unger, 49, and Grace Marie McCarthy. Hunter, who was entrusted to care for the elderly Augusta man, is named in the most counts of exploitation and neglect of an elderly person as well as possession of methamphetamine and oxycodone.

Unger is named in two counts of exploitation and two counts of neglect as well as fraudulent use of the victim’s credit cards. McCarthy is named in only one count of exploitation.

Neighbors alerted a family member because of suspicions something wasn’t right at the home of the victim, a retired medical school professor. According to an earlier report in The Augusta Chronicle, Richmond County sheriff’s Investigator Carol Romero found the victim to be frail and having trouble breathing on Christmas Eve. The smell of cooking methamphetamine was strong, and the house was dirty, cluttered and in disarray. Rotting food was on the kitchen counters and a number of lights did not work.

Romero testified at a hearing in February that the victim’s family had the house tested for methamphetamine, and the results were so high the house was uninhabitable unless specially cleaned.

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Indictment returned in case of elderly Augusta man found in meth home