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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Two people charged in elder abuse case of 71-year-old woman
Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 7:00 AM Updated: Thursday, November 18, 2010, 9:51 AM
David Harris | Flint Journal
GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan — Weighing just 64 pounds with only part of a fruit peel in her stomach, 71-year-old Joann Christopher died in March on the couch of an unlicensed adult foster care home in Mt. Morris Township.
Now, the two women responspible for caring for Christopher are charged with felony murder and vulnerable adult abuse. Mary Chapman, 70, of Holly Township, and her granddaughter Vamerolyn Chapman, 34, of Mt. Morris Township, are facing charges in the death of Joann Christopher, 71.
Authorities allege that the Chapmans, who were paid to take care of Christopher in their home, neglected their duties, which led to her death. The two were arrested on Wednesday and are lodged in the Genesee County Jail.
“Joann Christopher, regardless of her age, deserves justice,” said Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell. “I think this case should shock the conscious of a society that values the elderly.”
Christopher was found dead on March 2 on the couch of a home on West Stanley Road in Mt. Morris Township. The house was an unlicensed adult foster care home, Pickell said.
An autopsy showed she died of severe bed sores, malnutrition and dehydration, Pickell said. Christopher had been dead 2-4 hours before 911 was called.
Neither had an attorney on file. An attorney who has represented Mary Chapman in the past said he no longer represented her. The state Department of Human Resources declined comment on the case.
Christopher came under the care of Mary Chapman around 2005. Chapman was paid $800 a month by a court appointed guardian to take care of Christopher. Chapman then moved the woman to Vamerolyn Chapman in Mt. Morris Township in late 2009. Mary Chapman paid her granddaughter $100 a week to take care of Christopher, Pickell said.
Christopher never received medical attention. On February 28, Mary Chapman called the guardian and said Christopher was not eating, Pickell said. Christopher was dead three days later.
Pickell called the death a “tragic case.”
“These elderly people don’t have a voice,” Pickell said. “In essence, it’s like being in a prison camp.”
Authorities also are investigating the death of a 91-year-old woman who died on March 9 at an adult foster care home on Beard Street in Flint on March 9. Pickell said that case remains under investigation.
There’s been a long history of issues with adult foster care homes operated by Mary Chapman. The state revoked Mary Chapman’s license in 2005 after a state Department of Human Services investigation found numerous instances of residents wandering away from her Holly Township home, including one in which a resident died after being hit by a car.
Pickell said at one time Mary Chapman was operating 14 homes in Genesee County. The elder abuse task force, which handled the case, removed 10 women from the various homes in March, Pickell said.
Chapman would move around her residents to elude authorities, Pickell said.
“What it effectively does is shutdown a woman that was trafficking elderly people,” Pickell said.
miasma November 18, 2010 at 8:20AM
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Where the heck was the "court appointed guardian" in all this? Why was she paying Mary Chapman, whose license was already SUSPENDED?
The guardian should face charges, as well. This just makes me SICK. Who sits and watches someone waste away in front of them??? My DOG weighs more than 68 LBS!
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ANTI-LEYTON November 18, 2010 at 8:35AM
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If she has been in trouble before for elder abuse, why did Leyton let her continue to be a caregiver? why was she not charged and convicted in the other cases? Why did the courts continue to let her kill the elderly? I think the courts and the prosecutor is all responsible for this womens death.
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fitz50 November 18, 2010 at 8:58AM
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Could this be the same Mary Chapman that was chased out of the Detroit area many years ago? This family has abused these elderly people for years. Our neighborhood watched them take the residents out in the morning and not return them until late at night. They never shoveled snow to make it easier for the elderly to walk to the house, it was terrible to watch these people try to maneuver through the snow. There was no central air conditioning in the house and the only room that had a window air conditioning unit was Victoria Chapman's. So, the residents just had to suffer the heat! This family was reported numerous times and every time nothing happened. They seemed to prey on elderly people who don't have any family members that can check on them. I hope the courts throw the book at them.
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kya169 November 18, 2010 at 9:54AM
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This is just sad. If it really went on for that long a period of time. Its clear that Chapman must have known she was grossly negligent to these people that depended on her. She is a swindler of the worst kind, and this poor elderly woman was unfortunate enough to be caught up in the mix. No one wants to die like that. And I hope that justice can be served for her sake. |
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Thu Nov 18, 2010 10:25 am |
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ANTI-LEYTON
F L I N T O I D
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| ANOTHER BOTCHED LEYTON CASE, where he let the killer go, and she killed again, how long is the public going to let him ruin flint? |
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I hate leyton |
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Fri Nov 19, 2010 12:07 pm |
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