by Jordan Karnbach
Hamilton County Sheriff's Office
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — UPDATE:
A
life-threatening situation occurred in one quiet neighborhood on Friday
when police say a woman paid to help take care of a Chattanooga man
with ALS instead robbed and tried to strangle him.
The incident has sparked conversation about elder abuse and Monday we spoke to an expert about how often these cases happen.
According to an arrest affidavit, a former nurse’s aide entered the home of a man in his 70’s who she previously helped care for.
The report states Marcella Edge, also known as Marcella Collins, put a rag in his mouth, laid him flat on his bed and poured water on his face before leaving the home with a stolen amount of 4,000.
Monday we spoke to Shannon Bennett, Director of Sales at Brookdale Senior Living, about elder abuse cases.
"Elder abuse is a rapidly growing problem because the senior demographic is rapidly growing," Bennett says.
"85% of seniors over the age of 80 are going to have some sort of cognitive decline," she adds.
According to the arrest affidavit, the victim had Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS.
We asked Bennett: Are the elderly, a vulnerable population?
"Absolutely. They're a vulnerable population," she answered.
Bennet says this this is a common concern she hears from loved ones of those who need nursing care.
"They stole from us, they came in, they slept the whole time. They didn't take care of her, I hear that all the time, all the time," Bennett says.
We looked into the aide’s medical license, which says she didn’t face any disciplinary action in the past.
She faces charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, attempted first degree murder and aggravated abuse of an elderly or vulnerable adult.
WTVC
EARLIER:
A former caregiver was arrested for allegedly strangling her former patient, according to a police affidavit we obtained over the weekend.
On Friday, August 19, officers responded to a home invasion on Scrapeshin Trail.
According
to the affidavit, the victim told officers with assistance from his two
caregivers that a former employee came to his home Thursday night and
spent 30 minutes to an hour assaulting him by means of strangulation.
The victim told police he begged for his life and identified the suspect as Marcella Collins.
The man told police Marcella stuffed an orange and white checkered rag into his mouth, laid him on the bed, held his nose shut, and poured water in his face.
The rag was found in the washing machine when police arrived and the victim identified it as the one used in the attack.
According to the affidavit, during the altercation, Marcella told the victim, “Are you going to send me a 1099 now?"
The victim told the police he thought he was going to die.
Prior to the assault, the victim stated he had $4,000 in cash in a small box near his bed, but that money was removed from the box after the incident.
According to the affidavit, he told police, that he
closed his eyes to give off the impression he was dead and Marcella left
the scene.
During the course of the investigation, police learned Marcella was fired last Wednesday.
Police learned the victim wanted to give Marcella a 1099 form for tax purposes.
Police were able to locate Marcella at a home in Harrison where she was arrested.
According
to the affidavit, during an interview with police, Marcella said she
left the Harrison home on Thursday, and went to Burger King and then to
the victim’s house where she parked her red Jeep in the driveway. She
told police she was told to come to the home to pick up items and to
enter through the side door that was open for her to enter.
Marcella said during her interview with the police. she gave the victim a bath that he needed, changed his linens, and placed them in the washer to be cleaned.
She also said her Jeep contained $4,000 in cash located inside the glove box and most of the items that she took from the home.
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