Florida woman, Alice Kovach-Suehn , allegedly starved a 96-year-old man until he resembled a “Auschwitz concentration camp prisoner,” according to doctors who examined the Apopka man. Kovach-Suehn had legal power of attorney over the elderly man and was his sole caregiver.
Alice Kovach-Suehn, 56, also from Apopka, was arrested and charged with elderly neglect on Friday. Florida police said the 96-year-old man weighed just 89 pounds when they rescued him from the home. Apopka Police Sergeant Ed Chittenden said the Alice Kovach-Suehn arrest involved one of the worst cases of abuse he has ever seen during his nearly two decades in law enforcement.
The Florida arrest report states that the 96-year-old man was found covered in filth and “severely emaciated.” The elderly man told the police officers that Kovach-Suehn starved him and never permitted him to eat anything but “dog feces.” When the Apopka law enforcement officers found him, the victim’s knees were locked together and he could not move his hands. Sergeant Chittenden said the senior citizen was “skin and bones.”
Alice Kovach-Suehn was arrested for elderly neglect after she took the 96-year-old man to a Florida hospital with complaints of digestive issues. The medical care team at the hospital called the Florida Department of Children and Families to report the health condition of the Apopka man.
A Florida doctor said the 96-year-old looked as if he has emerged from the Auschwitz death camp, and another doctor called the elder abuse “homicide by starvation.” When the man was given food while at the hospital, “he ate like a starving dog,” police said. The elderly man was so weak he reportedly had to be spoon fed.
The Apopka police feel that Kovach-Suehn was trying to starve the 96-year-old man to death in order to get her hands on his money. The elder abuse victim told law enforcement investigators that his caregiver was attempting to get him to put his trust fund in her name – he was resisting her alleged efforts.
When Alice Kovach-Suehn was questioned about the starvation claims made by the Apopka man, she denied that any abuse had occurred and maintained that she had always fed the 96-year-old man well. Koach-Suehn reportedly blamed the man’s relatives and accused them of failing to look after his welfare.
When staffers from the Florida Department of Children and Families went to Kovach-Suehn’s home several months ago to check on the senior citizen, she reportedly refused to permit them entry. The Florida caregiver was released from jail on Saturday after posting the $5,000 bond.
Once the 96-year-old man is well enough to leave the hospital, he will reportedly be placed in a shelter.
[Featured image via: Shutterstock.com ]