Tiffany Pinckney, age 23, and described as severely autistic, was found dead last April in the basement of the house in Mississauga, Ontario, she shared with her adopted sister, Allison Cox, and Cox's partner, Orlando Klass.
Cox and Klass have been charged with criminal negligence cause death and failing to provide the necessities of life, and neglecting Tiffany for more than seven years since January 1998 when she moved in with the accused, following the death of her mother. Her sister became her legal guardian and caregiver.
According to the police, neighbours did not even know that Tiffany lived in the house.
The accused have been released on bail and will appear in court on 18 August. A publication ban prevents reporting evidence presented in court.
There is information and discussion about the case on
http://www.autisticsociety.org/postp4203.html.
Too often at risk adults are issued a support cheque from the government without being checked on to see if they are being cared for properly. Most likely this young woman was receiving benefits and no one ever really checked on her. Some feel that family members are the best to take care of someone and their finances but it is not always true.
Is it also possible that there was nowhere else for this lady to go? The people caring (????) for her might not have felt adequate to the task. This is in no way excusing their neglect of her but I mention this because there was a similar tragic case in Townsville a few years ago; only the woman had Alzheimers.
Her son was living with her and the only food she would eat was baked beans. She eventually died, in a very emaciated state, and in a filthy house. The son was working all day, and obviously quite unfitted to look after her. I think some health services came around but am not sure if it was suggested to him that she should be in hospital. He was charged with manslaughter, I think.
It's possible that he, like a lot of other people, was too proud to accept help. That is always a factor to consider in these kinds of cases.
I hope nobody thinks I am condoning neglect of vulnerable people; but there can be two sides to these stories and relatives are not always able to cope, let alone people with no real ties to the person. It's something that should never happen but we live in an imperfect world with lots of social ills.
It takes a very special kind of person to be able to care for somebody with a disability/challenging behaviours etc, especially if there is no respite care and other assistance, as is often the case.
You would have to take each case on its merits but I fully agree if it was found that the neglect was completely wilful, then the perpetrators should be jailed for a very long time.
I have seen different types of neglect happen to old people, especially people with Alzeheimer's.
The onset of the disorder can be gradual and sometimes the person themselves will try to hide their memory problems from others. The family is usually in denial about what is happening. They might have always thought of their parent as a parent: in charge, capable, the care taker role. Even sometimes when the family does realize what is happening they feel helpless or guilty in trying to get help. Often the last thing they want is to put their parent into an institution.
There is a great deal of guilt when putting someone in an institution. Many institutions are really bad anyway not to mention expensive. The governments are doing everything possible to keep people out of institutions and at home to minimize costs. The patient needs 24 hr supervision and accidents and dangerous situations can happen even when the caretaker just goes to the store, takes a shower, goes to the bathroom. The stove has to be disconnected, the fridge sometimes locked (throws out food, contaminates it, makes big messes). The patient might have trouble going to the bathroom with getting @%#%$ all over the place. It becomes overwhelming and frustrating for the family to take care of the person. If they just let them be and cash the cheques they are accused of neglect and robbery. If they smack them around, abuse. It is not an excuse to elder abuse but the red tape some people go through to get help for someone is unbelievable.
It might be difficult for some people to judge when they can handle the situation by themselves or when and how they need to get help. You can pick up a naughty toddler and remove them from harm but what can you do with a 200 lb 80yr old who will not follow instructs and insists on doing bizarre and sometimes dangerous activities? It seems inhumane to lock them up in an institution. I blame the big pharma for creating all these stupid "life-prolonging" drugs for old people that really do not improve the quality of life and the doctors who prescribe them. The dosages and combinations of drugs sometimes cause more problems than the benefits. I think at an advanced age of at least 75 I would gladly die undrugged.
I think it's quite possible the son I spoke of was in denial. He also seemed very depressed. It's also likely that he tried to get some help but was just given the run-around. Even though it was terrible that his mum died as she did, I also felt sorry for him as he needed help that he didn't receive. His siblings apparently didn't want to care for their mother and it was left to him.