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Followup[5]
2007-12-17 11:03 pmAnd, from a Google search for my Mom's name, this 10-day-old news article.
Followup[4]: Irony at Galloway Ridge
2007-12-16 08:37 amTwo elderly victims of fatal beatings at Galloway Ridge retirement community in Pittsboro could have learned -- on their own or with the facility's help -- about the criminal background of the woman charged in their deaths, human services officials and Galloway's executive director said.
Jason Crunk, executive director of Galloway Ridge, said Thursday that policies there called for Galloway to run a criminal check on any employees hired separately by residents. Margaret Murta, 92, and Mary Corcoran, 82, died after an attack Dec. 5 in their Galloway apartment. A former employee of the women, Barbara T. Clark, 41, of Pittsboro has been charged in the deaths.
"The residents can hire people to do work for them," Crunk said. "There is a policy we have that we screen them, but they did not inform us that they had this relationship."
This is one of the better articles; the subject seems to have dropped off the radar at Google News, so this will be my last post on the subject unless something new comes up down the line, possibly at the trial. I've given this thread the tag murder at galloway ridge for convenience.
Followup[3] on Galloway Ridge
2007-12-12 08:05 amA couple more articles (here and here) about the Galloway Ridge murders[1]: it seems as though they -- or something -- may have been premeditated. (Added 12/13 she was researching poisons, too.)
My original post here; followups here and here.
Mom is still shaken, but seems to be dealing with it. She's a little grumpy, though understanding, at some of the new security theatre going on. They're doing things like locking all unsecured doors -- but this woman was employed by the victims, and signed in at the front door as usual. Mom may be going on 89 years old, but (thank the Gods) she's still as sharp as ever.
[1] It does sound like the title of a mystery, doesn't it? Actually I prefer Murder at Galloway Ridge. Trouble is, the only mystery is why somebody nominally human would do something like that. Might have to be a psychological thriller.
These bleary-eyed musings brought to you by a late bedtime and insufficient caffeine.
More bad news about Mom's friends - Mary Corcoran, the other roommate, died on Saturday. The third beating victim is still in the hospital, in fair condition. Mom's still pretty shaken up. Last night she said, "It's the sort of thing you read about in the newspaper. You don't expect it to happen this close to home."
This article has the best information to date about the Galloway Ridge incident described in this downwhen post.
Seven years ago, Barbara Clark pleaded guilty to stealing more than $5,000 from a 90-year-old man at the Durham retirement community where she worked.
A judge gave her a suspended sentence and ordered Clark not to work anywhere she would have access to elderly people's property or possessions for three years.
On Thursday, Clark was charged with first-degree murder, accused of fatally beating a 92-year-old woman who had hired her as a housekeeper. The woman had asked Clark to come to her Fearrington Village retirement center apartment to discuss stolen checks.
There are more articles here, here, and here. (added here.) (12/8 Investigators: Financial Problems Spurred Maid to Attack Elderly Women -- that's no damned excuse.)
A little research might have kept her from being hired in the first place, but I don't think there was anything in her past that would have predicted that Clark would have become a killer when confronted. You want to give people a break, give them a second chance, give them the benefit of the doubt. Then something like this comes along...
Close call
2007-12-06 10:35 pmMy Mom had a close brush with death yesterday. Entirely too close.
She lives in a retirement community called Galloway Ridge in NC. If you look for it on Google News today, you'll get this. You can get some of the high order bits from the Boston Globe: "Elderly woman dies after attack; former maid charged with murder".
Two of Mom's good friends, Margaret and Mary, learned a couple of days ago that the woman they had hired as a housekeeper was suspected of forging checks. After discussing it with Mom, they invited her over to talk about it. Here's the scary part: they asked Mom to sit in, in case there was trouble; when it turned out that Mom had a dentist appointment they asked another friend from across the hall, instead.
When Mom got back from her dentist appointment she learned that the housekeeper had sprayed the three women with pepper spray, then bludgeoned them, apparently with a cane or walking stick. Margaret is dead, and Mary is not expected to survive. Their friend -- the one who could very well have been Mom -- is in serious condition.
Other news links: here, here, here, here, and here.
It's not safe out there. Anywhere. Take care.
