MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Officers said a 50-year-old man locked up his mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease in an efficiency. Inside, officers reported finding bugs, spoiled food, dry urine on the floor, a mattress without sheets, trash, disarray, and a small air conditioner that didn’t cool the space.
The woman also didn’t have access to proper drinking water, police said. There were items blocking access to the bathroom, and although she needed a cane or a walker to get around, she didn’t have one, police said. Doctors determined the woman was malnourished and severely dehydrated, police said.
Eugenio Bacallao, the woman’s primary caretaker in Miami-Dade County’s West Little River neighborhood, told police officers he was trying his best, according to the arrest report. Officers disagreed and arrested him on Tuesday.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was involved in the investigation. Alzheimerʼs disease is a condition that causes abnormal changes in the brain and can involve hallucinations and aggression. Bacallao’s defense attorney said in court that he loves his mother and didn’t mean to hurt her.
The woman was treated at Larkin Hospital, police said. The defense attorney said she was in stable condition. Bacallao is facing a second-degree felony charge of culpable negligence of an elderly person causing great bodily harm. He was held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $2,500 bond.
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