A mother and daughter have been arrested in what authorities called an abusive exploitation of an 87-year-old Hialeah woman. Anntoinette Deloris Woods, 49, and her 32-year-old daughter, Sharanda Patrice Coach, were arrested Thursday on charges including exploitation of an elderly person, organized scheme to defraud, neglect of an elderly person and abuse of an elderly person, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said.
A mother and daughter have been arrested in what authorities called an abusive exploitation of an 87-year-old Hialeah woman.
Anntoinette Deloris Woods, 49, and her 32-year-old daughter, Sharanda Patrice Coach, were arrested Thursday on charges including exploitation of an elderly person, organized scheme to defraud, neglect of an elderly person and abuse of an elderly person, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said.
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Authorities said the victim had lived at her Hialeah home since moving from Tennessee with her husband and disabled son in 1959.
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Neighbors grew concerned after not seeing the woman for some time and after observing "strange activities" at the home, including seeing the woman's possessions put out at the street for disposal, officials said.
The neighbors reported their concerns to Hialeah Police and on April 30, officers conducted a welfare check at the home.
The officers encountered Woods, who told them she was the woman's caregiver, and presented power of attorney and medical proxy documents for the woman, authorities said.
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Woods told investigators she'd met the elderly woman at the medical office where she worked and that the elderly woman asked her to assist in caring for her disabled adult son, who died in February 2022.
After the son's death, Woods said she assumed the role of caretaker for the woman and moved into the home along with several of Woods' family members, authorities said.
Woods also told police the elderly woman was living with Woods at her Miami apartment and had been since August 2023.
When police paid a visit to the apartment in Miami's Overtown neighborhood, they encountered Coach and the elderly woman, who said Coach took care of her at the apartment.
But police found the elderly woman's living conditions were unacceptable, with her living in a room without a bed, forcing her to sleep in a recliner, authorities said.
The room was small and cluttered with various items including a disassembled bed frame, large black garbage bags filled with unknown items, and a folded walker and wheelchair out of the elderly woman's reach. authorities said.
"She was in a room, there was no bed, she was in a recliner, which by all apparent evidence is where she slept and unfortunately couldn’t get to the bathroom. She didn't have a walker to get to the bathroom," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said.
The woman was also found to have bruises on her face, a large cut on her forearm, and apparent wrist and arm injuries.
She was taken to a hospital where it was discovered she had fractures in her right arm, and red and warm skin on her legs, indicating an infection, authorities said.
Woods said the fractures came from a fall in the bathroom, but medical staff said the injuries suggested they were not just the result of a fall, authorities said.
It was also determined that the woman was suffering from malnutrition and that her pacemaker needed new batteries, indicating she hadn't seen a cardiologist for a significant amount of time, officials said.
"She had some fractures, he had some hematomas, she was malnourished. She wasn’t receiving the nutrition that she needed and very importantly, she was on a pacemaker and the battery needed to be replaced," Fernandez Rundle said.
The woman told investigators she had pain and swelling in her legs that was so bad she feared they would explode, but said when she told Woods and Coach about her urgent need to see a doctor, they dismissed her and insisted she didn't need medical attention, authorities said.
She added that she was often left alone at home during the day and was typically fed Wendy's burgers and other fast food but usually had just one meal per day, officials said.
Woods and Coach were booked into jail. Both later appeared in court where Woods' bond was set at $72,500 and Couch's bond was set at $62,500.
"Imagine, everything this woman worked for all her life, her home, all her belongings, were dumped on the side of the street in a large pile. Everything she knew and cared about and worked so hard for was out on the street," Fernandez Rundle said.
