Dementia sufferer kept in dark and filth, judge told

A 90-year-old man with dementia was locked in a dark room for up to 16 hours a day, wearing an adult nappy and a wetsuit for whenever he soiled himself, the police allege.

The man’s son called him a “filthy animal” when he could not clean up his faeces, the prosecutor told a Christchurch District Court trial.

He had no access to light, fresh air or water. The light switch was taped off, the window was securely closed, and a sheet was fastened outside the house to prevent any daylight getting in even if the curtains were opened.

The man’s son, and his partner, are charged with neglecting the vulnerable man by imposing the conditions he lived in, and for failing to get his prescribed antibiotics when he was discharged from hospital after a bout of pneumonia.

Judge Mark Callaghan refused bids for name suppression for the man and woman on trial, but both signalled they may appeal so he continued the interim order until this afternoon so they can file papers. Another family member has been granted suppression.

The trial, before a judge alone, is expected to last at least two weeks.

The couple face the neglect charges, and the man faces 52 charges alleging he took a total of $275,239 from the elderly man’s bank account while he had enduring power of attorney, or from the family trust account.

He also faces one fraud charge, with the police alleging he transferred $35,000 to the account of a company he owned and used it to buy a vehicle.

Police say that when a lawyer who was a trustee questioned the transaction, the man provided a false document showing the money had been used for repairs to the elderly man’s house.

Police prosecutor Penny Brown described the living conditions of the man suffering from advanced dementia in her opening address.

She said the son was given enduring power of attorney in 2016 and another family member was given power of attorney relating to his care.

The son and his partner became his primary caregivers.

A complaint was made to the police in November 2019 that the son was abusing his power of attorney and he was charged, and at 8.30am on June 23, 2020, the police executed a search warrant at the house.

They found the old man in his bedroom, shut in with a bolt on the door and a key lock. There was an overwhelming smell of faeces. The light switch was taped off, and the bedroom window was secured with duct tape so there was no ventilation.

A sheet covered the outside of the house so there was no light in the bedroom even if the curtains were opened.

There was a smell of urine and a urine stain on the bed. The man was wearing a soiled wetsuit which he was unable to remove over the top of an adult nappy. He had no access to drinking water and the room felt cold and damp. The heater was off, and the controls were taped over and could not be used.

The man was taken to a residential care facility where he was found to be dehydrated.

Inquiries including CCTV footage showed the man being shut in the bedroom for up to 16 hours a day, sometimes only being let out after he had been calling out for an hour.

He had only a plastic bag or plastic container for toilet waste and when he soiled himself he was unable to clean himself properly. The video showed him trying to use a sock and other items to clean himself.

Sometimes he had no option but to go back to bed in a soiled state.

He was placed in a wetsuit with the zip cord removed so he could not take the suit off when he soiled his nappy. The suit prevented him from using the plastic container for waste.

The police allege the son would berate the old man, and called him a “filthy animal” when he soiled himself. A recording showed the son saying: “By God, I’m going to smack you one in the head if you don’t listen to me.”

Brown said the police alleged the son bought a television, cellphones, a Playstation, watches, and household appliances using the elderly man’s money, but for his own use.

When he was interviewed he told police initially that the accounts were “shared”, but later said that the spending had been used for items for his father.

The trial is continuing.