Senior had bed sores, ants crawling on her

If she had a Live-Vu system monitoring her with a doctor or a nurse watching over her as needed, this may not have happened!

By Hal Conick, hconick@mysuburbanlife.com
GateHouse News Service
Thu Apr 02, 2009, 05:38 PM CDT

Geneva, IL - Geneva paramedics told today of an elderly woman covered with bed soars in a urine-soaked bed and ants crawling on her body during the first day of testimony in the bench trial of two Geneva women charged with elder abuse.Sisters Jill, 55, and Julie M. Barry, 48, were each previously charged with two counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person in relation to the death of their mother, MaryKane County State's Attorney John Barsanti said in his opening statement that this is a different case because there has yet to be a definitive negligence case under Illinois law.

Barsanti said his case would revolve around Mary Barry’s condition upon arrival at Delnor-Community Hospital and at the time of the autopsy. Geneva firefighter John McCaffery, who was working as a paramedic the day of the emergency call, said that upon entering the home there was an “overwhelming odor of urine and fecal (matter).” Jill and Julie Barry, who were living with their mother, called 911 at 9:45 a.m. April 20, 2007 after they found Barry unresponsive, paramedics said, noting that they thought she had suffered a stroke. Geneva paramedics arrived at Mary Barry’s home to find her near death in a urine-soaked bed, covered with bed sores and with ants crawling on her body, according to Thursday’s testimony.

Mary Barry, 84, died that day at Delnor. The Kane County coroner determined Barry died of pneumonia. The sisters’ trial will continue at 9:30 a.m. Friday in Kane County Circuit Court.