DA alleges family starved elderly Bucks County man in ‘garbage strewn’ house

Morning Call (Allentown, PA)

March 29--When doctors at St. Luke's Hospice in Bethlehem started treating an 84-year-old Bucks County man in late November 2016, they decided to scrape away the dead tissue around a bedsore at the base of his spine -- one of several covering his body.

When the doctors were done, the gaping wound exposed some of the bones of his spine, according to police.

That was Nov. 21, 2016. The next day Albert W. Weaver Sr. was dead.

In the 16 months since his death, detectives interviewed medical staff and combed through his medical history in what one paramedic called the worst case of neglect she's ever seen, according to court records. Authorities also examined his financial records.

On Wednesday detectives filed charges against the people Bucks District Attorney Attorney Matt Weintraub said were responsible for Weaver's care.

The are Weaver's son, Albert W. Weaver Jr., 52, and his wife, Virginia Weaver, 49, and their daughter and her boyfriend, according to court records. The daughter, Amanda Weaver, 26, and boyfriend, Anthony James Dorney, 33, lived with Weaver Sr. on Union Road in Richland Township.

All are charged with neglect of a dependent care person, theft, conspiracy to commit theft and recklessly endangering another person, court records say.

Matt Coughlin/The Morning Call

Authorities allege the four raided Weaver Sr.'s bank accounts and cashed his pension checks, using the money for their own expenses.

"He put his care in the hands of people that he loved and was supposedly able to trust," Weintraub said. "Instead of taking care of him, they viewed him as essentially an ATM machine. They used him for his money, they used him for a residence, they all lived in the residences where they were supposed to have cared for him. Instead they let him waste away until he essentially died of neglect."

The alleged abuse came to light in late 2016, when emergency medical personnel were called to the house Weaver Sr. shared with his granddaughter and her boyfriend, one of two Weaver Sr. owned on the property.

On Nov. 10, 2016, Dorney told emergency dispatchers that he was giving his "grandfather" his daily bath when Weaver Sr. became unresponsive, according to court records.

Denise Garcia, a paramedic who answered the call to the Weaver home that day, said the home was deplorable, with "clothing and garbage strewn on the floor" and it had the "smell of infection," according to court records.

Garcia told police she had never seen such a severe case of neglect in 28 years in the emergency medical service.

Weaver Sr. was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in Quakertown, where doctors attempted to treat him.

Dr. John Davis told police Weaver was suffering septic shock, acute blood loss, multiple bedsores, infected toenails, severe dehydration, a urinary tract infection and malnutrition, according to court records.

On Nov. 21, Weaver was transferred to St. Luke's Hospice in Bethlehem, where he died the following day.

Dr. Ric Baxter of the hospice said Weaver was suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's disease and was in an emaciated state he called "severe starvation" and his body had begun processing itself for sustenance.

Investigators said medical records indicated that Weaver Jr. and his wife, Virginia, were his caregivers and lived in a Union Road home also owned by Weaver Sr.

Investigators began examining the elder Weaver's finances and found that in the weeks after his death, someone cashed at least three of Weaver Sr.'s pension checks. Virginia Weaver admitted signing the checks, police said.

Police also found the more than $150,000 that Weaver Sr. had in his bank account was gone -- whittled away through cash withdrawals, personal checks, checks to utilities, schools, court fees and drug treatment programs, according to court records. There were also purchases of video games, hotel rooms, firearms, cellphones, payment of traffic citations, auto loans and insurance, and other personal expenses, police said.

During interviews with the defendants, they each claimed to have a role in caring for the elder Weaver, police said. At one point, Virginia Weaver told police that they gave her father-in-law a bottle of Ensure, a dietary supplement, whenever he asked for it, but he did not eat, according to court records.

Dorney said Weaver Sr. had not eaten for two to three weeks before his death, according to court records. He admitted knowing about the bedsores on Weaver Sr.'s body, but Dorney said he did not want to call for help because he feared losing the house or custody of his children if authorities found out about Weaver Sr.'s condition, the documents say.

During their arraignment on the charges Wednesday morning, the family responded to a handful of questions from District Judge Lisa Gaier. Amanda Weaver wept. Her parents and boyfriend showed little emotion.

Amanda Weaver and Dorney both admitted prior drug use, but both said they had gone to a rehabilitation facility and were clean. Fees to a drug treatment program were among the payments made from Weaver Sr.'s money, police said.

The most serious charge against the family members, neglect of a dependent care person, carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

Virginia Weaver is being held in Bucks County jail on $750,000 bail, while Weaver Jr., Amanda Weaver and Dorney are being held on $500,000 bail.

As they were led to two waiting police vehicles, the two women were silent. Moments later when asked about his father's condition, Weaver Jr. said his wife was to blame, while Dorney blamed the media.

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IF YOU SUSPECT ABUSE

Bucks County residents should report suspected abuse to police, or the Area Agency on Aging, which has a 24-hour hot line: 800-243-3767.

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