Joseph McCoy, 30, of Lake Isabella, and his mother, 54-year-old Darlene Green of Weldon, were in Kern County Superior Court again on Thursday, Dec. 29 for a Readiness Hearing. The two face charges of causing harm or death to an elderly person in connection with the April 1,2011 death of Green’s mother, Margaret Gray.
At Thursday’s court appearance, Judge John Brownlee granted a request for the Readiness Hearing to be trailed until Jan. 4. Public Defender, Janice Kim representing McCoy, agreed with the request made by IDP attorney, Fred Gagliardini who was standing in for Green’s attorney, John Tello of Bakersfield, who was out of town due a death in the family.
  
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Gray was taken to the Kern Valley Hospital where her condition was found to be more severe than first thought. Dr. Manual Sacapano, then-emergency room director for the hospital, testified at the preliminary hearing in July that, “In 11 years, this is the worst case of elder abuse I have ever seen.”
Gray reportedly was transported to Bakersfield and admitted to San Joaquin Community Hospital. Court records show after being treated there, she was moved to Lifehouse, an elderly care facility overseen by Dr. Anthony Milanes in Bakersfield. Gray died from cardio respiratory arrest, sepsis, and Alzheimer’s disease according to the death certificate obtained by the Sun.
McCoy was Gray’s IHSS primary care giver since he turned 18 years old in 1999.
“ This is a great example of why, we as human beings should watch out for one another,” one person wrote on the Kern Valley Sun blog. “If you know an elderly person that is shut in, stop by and say Hey, doesn’t take but a few minutes out of your day to just check on someone, even a quick phone call. Get an understanding with a person that you are just calling to see if they are ok or need something, you never know, you may save a life, the neighborly thing to do, you know?”
Enough evidence was presented at the preliminary hearing in July for Judge David Lampe of the Superior Court of Kern County to hold the two to answer the charges against them.
“Anyone remotely responsible for this woman’s care should get the maximum penalty allowed,” said Lorraine Baynes. “You wouldn’t treat a dog this bad.”
“What a sad story. It's so heartbreaking to read of elder abuse and neglect. This was a major concern of mine when I had to find a caregiver for my aging father,” said A Coyle. “I worried about hiring a stranger for his care, Hopefully more people will learn about (new) software and it will prevent elder abuse. "
McCoy and Green are being held at the Lerdo Pre-trial facility.
Comments
8 comment(s)DIANE wrote on Jan 20, 2012 5:34 PM:
no name wrote on Jan 11, 2012 10:55 AM:
Whatever wrote on Jan 10, 2012 9:45 PM:
Nancy Albin wrote on Jan 9, 2012 3:12 PM:
LOL wrote on Jan 9, 2012 12:30 AM:
Whatever wrote on Jan 8, 2012 12:12 PM:
Tonja wrote on Jan 6, 2012 9:56 AM:
Vanessa wrote on Jan 4, 2012 2:58 PM:
We do a lot of unattended death cleanups and it's really sad when we find out that the person had passed away weeks before being discovered. "