MIAMI (WSVN) - Police have arrested a caretaker accused of abusing an elderly woman in her Miami home.
Tuesday morning, 64-year-old Martha Diaz Sanchez appeared before a judge in bond court to face charges. She shook her head as the judge read the charges.
“I find that this is very egregious, and so I’m going to do the increased bond,” said Judge Renatha Francis during her bond court appearance, Tuesday.
According to City of Miami Police, family members of 93-year-old Luisa Sofia Kesep, who lives with them at a house along the 1200 block of Southwest 29th Avenue, found the caretaker they’d hired about two weeks ago to be acting suspicious.
Kesep’s daughter, who had set up surveillance cameras inside the home, said she also noticed her mother’s bed had been moved.
“I had my son look into the video camera, and that’s when my son found that my mother had been kicked very hard by this lady,” said Kesep’s daughter, who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera.
The footage shows the caretaker kicking and cursing at the elderly woman, who has cancer.
“[The caregiver] gives her a kick to her right leg, causing a serious injury. She was bleeding,” said Miami Police Cmdr. Freddie Cruz.
The kick came after Kesep fell out of bed on her own and was unable to get up. The victim’s blood is later seen on the bedroom floor.
“She’s got 20 medical conditions, but we keep her going. She’s our mom,” said Kesep’s daughter.
Kesep’s family said Diaz Sanchez manhandled the elderly woman while trying to place her back in bed. Surveillance video shows the elderly woman’s weight causing the bed to roll, preventing her from lying all the way on the bed. Diaz Sanchez is then seen lifting the woman, causing her to land hard on the bed face down.
“This lady weighs 200-plus pounds. My mother is 90 pounds. She’s in frail health,” said Kesep’s daughter.
Investigators said that footage led to Diaz Sanchez’s arrest, just after 1:15 a.m., Monday.
“When [the police officer] came in, and he saw the pictures, he was so furious,” said Santiago, Kesep’s son-in-law. “Went in there, put the handcuffs on that woman and took her out like she deserved to.”
Police said Kesep suffered a large laceration to the leg at the hands of her caretaker, who then covered the wound with a bandage and mopped up the blood.
“This woman was really negligent with my mother in-law,” said Santiago. “She’s a very old lady, very weak, and she took advantage of that situation.”
“You don’t even treat an animal like this,” said Kesep’s daughter.
Paramedics transported Kesep to Jackson Memorial Hospital after she complained of chest pains. She was later released.
Kesep’s daughter said the incident serves as a cautionary tale for people who hire a caretaker for their elderly loved ones.
“Whoever they have their elderly [loved ones] being taken care of by a caregiver, watch over the caregiver,” she said. “My heart is all crumbled, and my husband, Santiago, [to whom] I’ve been married 42 years, feels the same way.”
Diaz Sanchez is charged with aggravated battery on a person 65 or older, elderly abuse and tampering with physical evidence.
“I have a word for you people who abuse elderly or children: watch out,” said Kesep’s daughter. “Because there is always somebody watching you, and you will be arrested.”
Diaz Sanchez is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $35,000 bond.
“I hope this lady rots in jail,” said Kesep’s daughter.
She is currently being held on $30,000 bond.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.