Elly Lorey was 89 years old. She suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Did anyone care?
Bob De Marco Alzheimer's Reading Room
Her daughter Kirstin, and her husband Toby Fenn, could be spending the rest of the their life in jail. The Fenn's are charged with neglect, abuse and the murder of Elly Lorey.
Palm Beach County's medical examiner, Dr. Michael Bell, after performing an autopsy, said Lorey died of dehydration and starvation and ruled it a homicide.
Elly Lorey spent the last of her 89 years in a state of extreme mental decay, living in a locked, unventilated room where she smeared excrement on the walls and existed on a diet of honey buns and Ramen noodles, according to police reports. When she died, Lorey had withered to 80 pounds. Despite the signs of advanced Alzheimer's disease, she had received no medical care.
The state presented evidence that Lorey lived in a locked room, where wood lattice covered a sliding glass door leading to the outside and pizza-box tops were nailed over the room's air conditioning vents in an effort to keep the stench from spreading through the rest of the house. A maid cleaned the Fenn home but refused to enter Lorey's room, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report.Today the attorney's are presenting closing arguments. When this is accomplished the judge will instruct the jury. Then, it will be up to the jury to decide.
You can read more about Elly Lorey and the trial in the following articles.
Did a Boca Raton Couple Murder Elly Lorey Who Suffered from Alzheimer's Disease?
89-year-old 'was a prisoner', prosecutor argues in murder trial of Alzheimer's patient
Neglect killed 89-year-old West Boca woman, Dr. Peter Rabins testifies in murder trial
HBO star of 'Autopsy' series says death of 89-year-old Alzheimer's sufferer was not homicide
Elderly mother 'starved to death,' ex-medical examiner says in Alzheimer's murder trial
Daughter tried her best, but elderly mother still died, she says
Defense puts on its case in elderly abuse murder trial
Prosecutor: Taking care of elderly woman was "imposition" for daughter, son-in-law
Reporting for the Florida Sun Sentinel--Missy Diaz
Reporting for the Palm Beach Post--Susan Spencer-Wendel
Original content Bob DeMarco, Alzheimer's Reading Room