Son charged with elder abuse when 88-year-old mother found near death in 'filthy' conditions

By Deidra Dukes

Disturbing abuse accusation against victim's son

A local man is charged in a disturbing case of elder abuse. The alleged victim was his own mother. Fifty-six-year-old Tony Sherman was arrested Monday and charged with neglect. His mother was hospitalized after maintenance workers found the Duluth woman living in deplorable conditions.

DULUTH, Ga. - A Gwinnett County man is facing charges after maintenance workers discovered his elderly mother living in deplorable conditions.

Duluth police officers responding to a report of a person down, called for paramedics after discovering 88-year-old Ruby Sherman alone and near death inside a residence on the 3500 block of South Street.

The smell in the house was so bad, an officer on scene grew physically ill.

Maintenance workers called police to the residence after they found the elderly woman in a back bedroom, unresponsive.

In the police report, responding officers noted Sherman was filthy, lying in bed on a urine-stained mattress covered with a blanket. She was emaciated, and covered in open sores. There was old food scattered around the floor.

The victim's son, 56-year-old Tony Sherman, has been charged with abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a disabled or elderly person. He was arrested Monday, two weeks after police questioned him on scene as his mother was being rushed to the hospital.

Sherman originally told police he lives in Lawrenceville, but later admitted he stays with his mother.

He claimed that he checked on his mother several times a day, and said she doesn't want to live in a nursing home. Sherman said she  hadn't been to the doctor in a few years, and he had a hard time getting her to eat.

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Son charged with elder abuse when 88-year-old mother found near death in 'filthy' conditions