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Update: Gulfport Police Charge Two Women with Neglecting Elderly Woman

Kathryn D. Ashe | Gulfport Police | Gulfport

The charges arose after the two, who were the woman’s caretakers, reported her death, police said.

GULFPORT – Police here have charged two caretakers with neglecting a frail, 66-year-old woman.

Kathryn D. Ashe, 66, died at her home.

Jennifer Susan Poulos, 41, and Debra Germaine Poulos, 61, were charged with one count each of neglect of an elderly/disabled adult, a felony, Gulfport police said. Jennifer Susan Poulos has also been charged with child neglect.

Police said the investigation began about 8:31 p.m. Friday (June 24) when the two caregivers called to report the woman had died. The two caretakers had been caring for the woman for at least eight months in the house, in the 5300 block of 29th Avenue S, where they all lived together. Police said their investigation revealed that the two had intentionally failed to provide adequate care
for the victim, especially medical care, once they realized how frail she was.

The house was uninhabitable, extremely cluttered, and infested with roaches, police said. One could not walk from room to room as there was no clear path. Both caregivers told police they had moved out eight to 10 days before the discovery of the victim’s death, leaving her in the apartment alone with little ability to care for herself.

Police said Jennifer Poulos had a 4-year-old son who was also living there for the past eight months. Police called the child protective investigations division, which took the child from her custody pending further investigation. On Tuesday (June 28), police announced they had added the charge of child neglect against Jennifer Poulos based on the “totality of circumstances surrounding the involvement of the 4-year-old child.”

“The 4 year old has been subjected to living conditions that could be considered uninhabitable to the point beyond providing the necessary services to maintain the child’s physical and/or mental health that a prudent person would consider essential for the well being of the child,” a police spokesman said.

For information about the Gulfport police, go to gulfportpolice.com.

Gulfport Police | Elderly Neglect | Caretakers Charged | Crime | TB Reporter

Gulfport Police | Elderly Neglect | Caretakers Charged | Crime | TB Reporter