Orillia couple jailed for elder abuse

 

Back in October, I blogged about the case of Viola Simonds. It was one of the most shocking, bleak, and heart-breaking cases of elder abuse I had ever heard. Mrs Simonds, 76 years old, was found naked, filthy, covered in vomit and feces, starving, dehydrated, bleeding internally, suffering with an unattended broken hip, and delirious. She died a few months later of the damage to her internal organs caused by her living conditions.

The unfathomable part of it is that she was deliberately kept this way by her own daughter and son-in-law, who cashed in Mrs. Simonds three pensions to live on themselves. Mrs. Simonds had granted her daughter power of attorney, allowing the daughter access to her finances and control over her care.

In January of this year, the court sentenced the daughter and son-in-law, the despicable and obviously pathological Diana and James Davy, to one year in jail for their treatment of Mrs. Simonds. The charge against them was failure to provide the necessities of life. Personally, I don't think a year is long enough. What do you think would have been a suitable sentence for these people?

The attached photo shows Viola Simonds after paramedics brought her to the hospital, and is described as court photo #6.