Son charged in death of elderly Chester SC man whose body was found in closet

By Andrew Dys

 

Chester County, SC

The son of a 75-year-old Chester County man stole money to buy drugs while failing to care for his father, then hid his father’s dead body in a closet for weeks, officials said.

William Russell Shirley, 34, was arrested late Tuesday night by Chester County Sheriff’s Office deputies, records show. He is charged with willful and knowing neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death, and exploitation of a vulnerable adult, said Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey.

Clyde Harris Shirley, the father of William, was found dead Sunday in his rural home on Boyd Road in Blackstock, south of Chester, Dorsey said. Chester County deputies, state police agents from the State Law Enforcement Division, and the Chester County Coroner’s Office investigated.

We recently posted an update to the death investigation on Boyd Road from March 14. William Shirley has been charged with Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult Resulting in Death and Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult. Read our full post here: https://t.co/NsG199rDIc pic.twitter.com/cyoHJNj6wT

— Chester County Sheriff's Office (@ChesterSheriff) March 17, 2021

Clyde Shirley had been in poor health, said Chester County Coroner Terry Tinker and Chester County deputies.

Body hidden in a closet

The police investigation showed Clyde Shirley had been dead since Feb. 25 but the body was hidden in the closet by his son, Dorsey said. William Shirley was his father’s caregiver, but stole money from his father to support drug use, Dorsey said.

William Dorsey failed to seek medical care or provide other needs for his father, which led to the father’s debilitation and death, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald. William Shirley gave others misinformation about his father’s whereabouts since late February, warrants state.

“This case is an example of what drugs can do to people and families,” Dorsey said. “The victim in this case depended on someone else for his care and well-being, and that care was not given to him.”

William Shirley remains in the Chester County jail, records show.

The abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult charge leading to death carries a potential penalty of 30 years in prison, South Carolina law states. The exploitation of a vulnerable adult charge also is a felony that carries up to five years in prison for a conviction under South Carolina law.

Elder abuse and neglect a national and local problem

As many as one in 10 vulnerable adults are targets of abuse or neglect, according to statistics from the FBI and National Institute of Justice.

In the Chester case, William Shirley refused to allow another caregiver to see his father and assess his father’s condition, according to the arrest warrants.

In York County in 2020, sheriff’s deputies found the bodies of two elderly women in a home near Clover who had been wrapped in plastic for years after their deaths. The family member alleged to have stolen money from the victims in that case later committed suicide as police were investigating, officials said.

In December in Fort Mill, officials found the body of a 96-year-old man who had been dead for months.

Officials with law enforcement advise anyone who has an elderly neighbor or relative who has not been seen or heard from to seek out that person or call police to have a welfare check done.

Full Article & Source:

Son charged in death of elderly Chester SC man whose body was found in closet

Nebraska Lawyer Disbarred For Punching 83-Year-Old Father (1)

A Nebraska lawyer who pleaded no contest to a felony after punching his elderly father in the face several times 2018 has been disbarred by the state’s supreme court.

The Nebraska Supreme Court said on March 27 that while there’s no “bright line rule,” its cases “regarding the appropriate discipline for felony convictions have generally concluded that such convictions reflect adversely upon a lawyer’s fitness to practice law and that disbarment is the appropriate sanction.”

Omaha attorney Evangelos A. Argyrakis pleaded no contest in 2018 to a charge of “knowing and intentional abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult or senior adult, a Class IIIA felony” and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Argyrakis, at the time of the assault, was a Democratic Party candidate for Nebraska attorney general, according to local news reports.

At his disciplinary hearing, Argyrakis said that since 2010, he had seen five different doctors for mental health therapy and medication management and that during his childhood, his father physically and emotionally abused him and that he witnessed his father physically abusing his mother, the court said.

He called a mental health expert to testify that his depressive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder contributed to the incident between him and his father, it said. But the hearing referee placed little weight on the testimony as a mitigating factor because “the opinions were formed solely on the basis of self-reporting by Argyrakis,” the court said.

The referee found that a mitigating factor was his lack of a prior disciplinary record in over 25 years of practice, it added. However, Argyrakis didn’t accept responsibility for his misconduct, the court said.

And the referee also concluded that Argyrakis had been convicted of a crime of violence, in violation of state professional conduct rule, it added. While the crime of abuse of a vulnerable adult may not always constitute a crime of violence, particularly when there’s an issue of neglect or exploitation, in this case the record from the criminal case showed showed otherwise, the referee found.

A conviction for a crime of violence “damages the reputation of the bar and threatens public confidence in the profession,” the court said. “For these reasons, we conclude, after considering the appropriate factors, that disbarment is the appropriate sanction in this case,” it said.

Argyrakis, in a statement emailed to Bloomberg Law, said he’d retired from the practice of law prior to his disbarment.

“I did not have any clients, nor did I have any client funds at the time of the incident and I was in no danger to anyone in the public in terms of providing any type of misinformed legal services or any kind legal negligence,” he said.

The case is State ex rel. Counsel for Discipline of the Neb. Supreme Court v. Argyrakis, 2020 BL 114456, Neb., No. S-19-059, 3/27/20.

Full Article & Source:
Nebraska Lawyer Disbarred For Punching 83-Year-Old Father (1)

Sandy man charged with elderly abuse of mother found lying on floor for 3 days

SALT LAKE CITY — A Sandy man has been charged with leaving his elderly mother lying on the floor for three days in her own feces and illegally obtaining a loan in her name.

Anthony Leichtle, 49, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony; exploitation of a vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony; and violation of a protective order, a class A misdemeanor.

In March, a nurse went to the 73-year-old woman's home and found her "lying on the floor covered in her own urine and feces," according to charging documents.

"(The woman) stated that she laid on the floor for three days and did not remember eating or using the bathroom," the charges state.

The woman told police her son did not talk to her during that time.

"(Leichtle) said he was unable to take care of (his) mother because she was too sick," according to court documents.

He gave the nurse his mother's medical information "and told her to 'figure out' what to do" with her, the charges state. She was taken to a local hospital and was found to have several injuries, including problems with her kidneys.

"(The woman) is now unable to walk or get out of bed," charging documents state.

The mother had taken out a protective order against Leichtle in 2011, according to court documents. Despite that order, detectives learned that in 2015, Leichtle secured power of attorney over her, the charges state.

In January, Leichtle took out a loan for just under $300 in his mother's name at Solutions Loan, 2723 W. 3500 South, according to court records. The loan was taken out at a rate of 469.29 pecent and required repayment in 12 installments of $118.91 each for a total of more than $1,500, police say.

Leichtle made one payment of $25 but then told the company that his mother was in a care facility and refused to make any more payments, the charges state.

A warrant was issued for Leichtle's arrest and he was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

Full Article & Source:
Sandy man charged with elderly abuse of mother found lying on floor for 3 days