Special to the Sun
On Wednesday, July 20 a visibly shaken Darlene Green and her son, a tearful Joseph McCoy, appeared in Superior Court at the preliminary hearing phase of the case accusing them of elder abuse causing the death of Green’s mother, Margaret Gray.
In the proceedings that lasted the better part of the day, the gruesome details of the condition that Gray was found in were brought to light.
 Joseph McCoy and Darlene Green |
St. Clair said the flies were so thick in the room that he had to “bat them away as he was trying to assist Miss Gray.” At that point, Green yelled out again and her attorney, John Tello of Bakersfield turned to her and sternly quieted her down.
For the remainder of St. Clair’s recalling the night of Feb. 11, Green rocked uncontrollably back and forth in her chair. St. Clair told the court that it was with great difficulty he and his partner, Jackie Baker, were finally able to roll Gray onto her side and place a clean sheet under her and then up onto the gurney. “Whenever we tried to move her, her skin would fall away in pieces.”
According to St. Clair, Gray was combative and kept trying to push him away. “Her mental state was altered and she seemed annoyed that there were people in her house.” Deputy District Attorney, Michelle Domino asked St. Clair to describe the wounds he observed on Miss Gray’s body.
He hesitated for a moment and then said there were so many, he didn’t count them. “There was a large one in the lower center of her back,” he said. He testified that Gray had to have been lying in the bed for weeks, even months, for her to deteriorate into that severe a condition. Gray was taken to Kern Valley Hospital.
While Dr. Manuel Sacapano, emergency room director at Kern Valley Hospital, was testifying, both Green, 54, and McCoy, 30, became agitated and showed their emotions in response to his answers. “In 11 years, this is the worst case of elder abuse I have ever seen,” Sacapano said. He testified that the ulcer on Gray’s back was a Grade 4, which meant that it had to take some time to rot the skin through, down to her spine.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Gray was treated for her condition in the best way possible to make her ready to be transported to San Joaquin Community in Bakersfield. Sacapano added, “She was going to need an entire team of doctors to help her. Her overall condition was very, very poor.”
In addition to Gray’s sores and ulcers, she was suffering from severe malnutrition and was dehydrated, Sacapano said.
After further treatment at San Joaquin Community Hospital, Gray was placed in the care of Dr. Anthony Milanes of the Bakersfield Family Medical Center. Milanes oversees the elderly care unit of the facility known as Lifehouse.
Milanes said Gray arrived at Lifehouse near the end of February, where she was treated with antibiotics for the ulcers and the sepsis that had developed in her body.
Sepsis is a severe illness in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria, and commonly called blood poisoning. Gray was there until she died on April 1.
Milanes filled out Gray’s death certificate, citing the cause of death as cardio respiratory arrest, sepsis, and Alzheimer’s disease. He testified the sepsis and the formation of ulcers were caused by Gray’s deteriorated condition.
Kern County Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Marco Vazquez was also called to testify July 20. Vazquez was the responding officer the night of Feb. 11, when law enforcement was called to Gray’s house at 2313 Reeder Street in Lake Isabella, by Gray’s other daughter, Barbara Mendez of Baldwin Park.
Mendez said she was at Gray’s house to celebrate her 90th birthday when she was made aware of the situation. Vazquez’s testimony and Judge David Lampe’s ruling on the hearing will follow in the next edition of the Sun.
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