Abstract
Amelia Lewis de Gremli was an elderly Shakespearean scholar recently incapacitated by a stroke, speechless, and living in a Carson City, Nevada, nursing home. With false promises, Charles and Carole Dutton managed to secure Amelia's "X" on a generic Power of Attorney form. Soon all therapy & medical care is terminated. With access to her bank accounts, the Duttons purchased a new car, forced her from her home and secretly move her to Bend, Oregon.
In Bend, using Amelia's funds, they purchased a 3-bedroom, 3-bath home. They sell her Nevada home and keep the equity (100%). Amelia's Will is rewritten by the Duttons, naming themselves as beneficiaries. She is then abandoned in a Care Home while they wait for the Will to kick in. At the Care Home, the Duttons leave specific instructions not to provide speech and physical therapy. Amelia's care is paid for by her own monthly Social Security & VA Pension: the remaining is pocketed by the Duttons. She is given no expense money and is allowed to go without such necessities as "toothpaste." Her remaining assets are liquidated as the Duttons purchased RV vehicles and provided ongoing financial assistance for their three adult children.
For six years Amelia is kept a prisoner; physically by the Duttons, mentally by her own aphasic condition. All attempts to contact Amelia are intercepted by the Duttons: they block Amelia's repeated attempts to contact her old friends, including her only living relative, a sister.
In August, 1991, after numerous unsuccessful attempts, she miraculously and secretly managed to have a letter (without a street address!) delivered to her Nevada friends. In a child-like aphasic sprawl, the letter consisted of the word, "Help."
The Duttons were indicted on six counts, but the limitations on elder abuse law resulted in an unexpected acquittal on trial. Circuit Judge Stephen Titkin ruled, "(The Duttons) were very, very good at making what was hers, theirs."
A subsequent civil suit resulted in a $96,644.03 judgment against the Duttons, where Circuit Judge John M. Copenhaver found that:
“The fraud committed here was aggravated by reason of its duration,
evil purpose and the extreme vulnerability of the victim.”
Oregon’s laws on elder abuse were changed because of Amelia’s plight.
Hear me with patience but to speak a word.
(Romeo & Juliet, III,v,162)
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