ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A St. Lucie County caretaker duo is accused of turning their elderly client’s home into a house of horrors — meals denied, wounds ignored, bathroom breaks forced outdoors.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office (SLCSO) says they began investigating two suspects, 43-year-old Enrique Junior Navedo and 58-year-old Loy Lynn La Pierre, after a complaint to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) alleged that an elderly victim had been abused by their caretakers.
Another report in October rang alarm bells and raised additional concerns about the victim’s mental and physical health.
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In interviews, the victims told law enforcement that they were denied food, could not move freely about the home, were forced to take cold showers with a garden hose in a tent, and were even forced to use the bathroom outside.
Detectives say they later learned that the victim had chronic, untreated wounds that exposed internal tissue and bone, as well as medical conditions caused by severe and prolonged neglect.
The investigation also allegedly revealed that Navedo had transferred ownership of the victim’s residence into his name through a “Quit Claim Deed” that was backdated and filed more than a year after it was signed.
Subsequently, Navedo was booked for counts of fraud-swindle-obtain property of $50,000 or more, and abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without bodily harm.
La Pierre was booked on counts of abuse of an elderly disabled adult without great bodily harm. Both were booked into the St. Lucie County Jail.
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