Elderly Man Sprung Wife From Nursing Home

An 84-year-old man is accused of kidnapping his wife from a nursing home and taking her to Florida, where they lived for nearly a year before authorities found them.

Joseph Perez has been charged with kidnapping for taking his wife, Helen, from Father Murray Nursing Center in January. They lived in Florida until about Nov. 1, when a claim for government health benefits for the elderly tipped off police, authorities said.

"We're looking out for the best interests of the alleged victim," prosecutor John Latella said.

Latella said Perez had been a guardian for his wife, who is about the same age, for several years but was stripped of that designation because of how he cared for her. She was later placed in the nursing home.

But defense lawyer Azhar Sheikh criticized the prosecutor's office, saying Perez was charged too harshly. A conviction carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

"This is an extremely sad case," Sheikh said. "He was just trying to help his wife. He doesn't belong in jail. This man needs to get some help. He cares for his wife. He wanted to take care of her and did nothing to harm her."

Perez is being held in the Macomb County Jail, while his wife is living in their Warren, Mich., home under full-time care.

On Monday, bond was reduced for Perez from $100,000 to a personal bond, and he was released from the Macomb County Jail. He had been held since being charged last week with kidnapping his wife.

"Let's put it this way: Everybody's going to have a merry Christmas," Latella told The Detroit News. A preliminary examination is scheduled Wednesday.

The couple moved to Titusville, Fla., in November 2005, after Joseph Perez took his wife from the Murray Nursing Center in Center Line, saying she had a dentist's appointment. Authorities found them after they filed a Medicaid claim.

Helen Perez had a stroke in 1994, and her husband cared for her in their Warren home until she hurt a finger in October 2005. Authorities said the injury was a sign of possible abuse and said Joseph Perez was not properly caring for her.

Helen Perez hated the nursing home, a granddaughter said.

"She was begging to get out," Bethany Scribner said. "My grandfather tried to make it as comfortable for her as possible. Every week he'd pay for a hairdresser to come to the nursing home and do her hair. But she wanted out, so they cooked up this scheme to spring her from the nursing home and move to Florida."

A man who served as her guardian questioned her husband's actions and intentions.

"This is a woman who couldn't speak. She had a heart condition," George Heitmanis told the Free Press. "Joseph Perez took her out on a day pass and never returned. He did not take her medication."