Police: Woman Critically Injures Elderly Mom On Mother's Day
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) - Authorities say Pittsburgh woman beat and seriously injured her elderly mother - who has dementia - at their home on Mother's Day.
Rose Bynum, 54, also allegedly told police she hoped her 74-year-old mother dies and asked them to kill her mom. She's charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and other counts.
Police responded to Bynum's home around 7:30 a.m. Sunday and soon found her mother on her bedroom floor with swelling around her eyes, bruising and serious cuts on her face and neck.
The mother was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but has been upgraded to stable. Authorities say she told them Bynum kicked and punched her. According to a criminal complaint, the mother suffers from dementia and is wheelchair-bound.
The 54-year-old Bynum allegedly told officers she had been caring for her mother for 13 years and was tired of it. Police said she had an unsteady gate and slurred speech, indicating she had been drinking alcohol at the time of the incident.
Carol Brackett, the prevention division chief at the Area Agency On Aging, says this is just one of many reported elder abuse cases.
"Last year, we received over 3,000 reports of abuse of older adults, and about 500 of those were involving physical abuse," Brackett said.
Brackett admits care-giving can be stressful, but help is available.
"We have a senior line at the Area Agency On Aging. We have a caregiver support program that people can tap into because if you talk to other people, you can find out you're not the only one in that situation," she said.
It wasn't known Monday if Bynum has retained an attorney.
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