Warning: This story may be disturbing to readers
A 26-year-old caregiver in Michigan has been hit with a slew of charges after disturbing video of her allegedly abusing an elderly dementia patient was discovered by authorities.
Flint Township resident Dontia Shawnra Arrington, 26, was charged with vulnerable adult abuse and torture with intent to cause cruel or extreme physical and mental pain. She was also charged with assault with intent to cause bodily harm in the stomach.
The charges were announced at a press conference held by the Genesee County Sheriff's Office on April 18. During the presser, Sheriff Chris Swanson said that the videotaped Apr. 4 altercation stemmed from the patient having an accident.
"You're going to see that the victim had an accident, you're going to see the roughness of the caregiver to the victim," he explained.
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The video shows the suspect pummeling the victim repeatedly with a soiled diaper, police said. The 93-year-old woman held her arms up in an attempt to protect herself, and the video appears to show her trying to fight back.
The caregiver was then filmed putting her right hand around the victim's neck in an attempt to choke her, according to police.
"A few minutes later, you're gonna see the caregiver square off with the victim," the sheriff said while narrating the video. In the footage, the caregiver makes punching gestures towards the victim, who tries to smack her in defense.
Swanson described the video as being "difficult to see" because of the fragility and vulnerability of the victim. He says that the 93-year-old woman is suffering from late-stage dementia and struggles with cognitive issues every day.
"This stage of dementia, you cannot carry on a conversation with our victim," the sheriff explained. "This is severe dementia."
"She has no idea what's going on. She can't process what we process on a regular basis."
Warning: The video below may be disturbing to readers
The victim's daughter, named Kathy, also spoke at the press conference about the video. She said that she began noticing her mother's hands were "totally black" with bruises, and believes the abuse began in December.
"I've always been my mom's protector… I'm watching this and all I kept saying was, ‘My mom, you know, why are you doing this to my mom?’" she said.
"She's 93, five foot tall, 130-pound lady. Never been in a fight in her whole life… horrified. Just horrified."
Kathy called her mother "a great mom" and said that she raised her and her two sisters as a single mom. When her mother began suffering from dementia, Kathy took her in for nearly a year before eventually moving her to a nursing home.
The daughter added that her mother still shows signs of bruising but doesn't appear to know what happened.
"She's still traumatized from it. She'll pick up her sleeves and go, 'I don't know what happened, but this is bad.' Like, that's okay, mom, you don't have to know," she said.
Authorities are actively investigating the incident. The sheriff's office believes multiple suspects may have been involved, and that there may be additional victims out there. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the Genesee County Sheriff's Office at (810) 257-3426.
