ST. LUCIE COUNTY – Two arrests were made recently an elder abuse case, where the victim allegedly was being physically abused by caretakers, according to St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office reports.
Enrique Junior Navedo, 43, was charged with fraud – swindle/obtain property of $50,000 or more; and abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without great bodily harm, according to sheriff’s office reports.
Loy Lynn La Pierre, 58, was charged with abuse of an elderly or disabled adult without great bodily harm. Both were booked into the St. Lucie County Jail, according to sheriff’s office reports.
The investigation began on July 16, after a complaint to the Florida Department of Children and Families alleged the victim was being physically abused and neglected by her caretakers. A second report in October raised more concerns about the victim’s mental and physical health, according to sheriff’s office reports.
During interviews, the victim described being denied food, restricted from moving freely inside her home, and forced to use the restroom outdoors, according to sheriff’s office reports. She was also made to shower in a small tent with a garden hose, providing only cold water and no temperature control, according to sheriff’s office reports.
Detectives later learned the victim suffered from a chronic, untreated wound that exposed internal tissue and bone, as well as numerous other medical conditions caused by prolonged neglect.
Further investigation revealed Navedo fraudulently transferred ownership of the victim’s home into his name through a Quit Claim Deed which appeared to have been backdated and filed more than a year after its alleged signing, according to sheriff’s office reports.
The Sheriff’s Office did not release the relationship to the caretakers nor the location where the alleged abuse took place.
The investigation continues.