UPDATE:
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL -- Detectives say Robert Rozenti divided his Port St. Lucie house in two: half for him, and the other half for his 90-year old mother.
They say that's about all Rozenti did to care for his mother: leaving her to fend for herself, providing few clothes, little food and virtually no daily attention or medical care.
"The lack of care for her, the lack of care for your own mother. I don't understand how anyone could do that," said Detective Daniel Herrington, the Port St. Lucie detective who worked the case.
Rozenti called 911 this week when his mother fell in the house. Paramedics found her in such poor condition, they called police.
Detectives say the woman was dehydrated and malnourished, her clothes soaked in urine. She was left to sleep on a dirty mattress with no linens on the bed, cobwebs hanging from the walls.
"The most horrendous part was her feet," said Det. Herrington. "They had not been groomed in several years. Her shoes had actually grown into her feet. They were grown together. They (paramedics) had to physically remove them."
Rozenti told police he and his mother didn't get along because he is her illegitimate son. He said he let her take care of herself, even though he has power of attorney and police say there are no other relatives.
"The smell of the house alone, of urine and other bodily fluids - there's no way you could live in that house and not know how she was deteriorating," said Herrington.
Karen Cook works for the St. Lucie County Council on Aging.
"It's heartbreaking because there is help available, but you have to take that first step and ask for help," she said.
Cook says area councils on aging can help locate adult daycare and assisted living programs that can give care-givers a much needed break. Some of these programs are subsidized by the government, she says.
She says elderly persons who feel neglected or trapped at home can always call the Florida Elderly Abuse Hotline to get help.
That number: 1-800-96-ELDER (1-800-963-5337)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL — A Port St. Lucie man was arrested and charged with neglect of an elderly person after his 90-year-old mother was found emaciated and in urine-soaked clothes, an arrest affidavit released Sunday said.
Robert M. Rozenti, 68, of the 2000 block of Southeast Franciscan Street, was the sole provider for his mother and told police that he was appointed his mother’s power of attorney in 2006, the report said.
Early Saturday, the victim, Anna Chuboff was transported to Columbia Hospital after falling at the residence. Police were called to the hospital after the paramedics found her “unwashed, wearing clothing soaked in urine, severely underweight and emaciated,” the report said.
Police also noted that the shoes the victim had been wearing had not been removed for a long period of time and had “grown into her feet,” the report said. Her toenails had taken the shape of her shoes, police said in the report.
Chuboff told investigators that her son was “abusive to her verbally” but never hit her, the report said. She told police that she had not received medical attention for some time despite being diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure, the report states. At the time of questioning, she could not remember if she ate that day. Chuboff told police that she could not remember the last time she bathed and she routinely soils her clothing, the report said.
Investigators said that Chuboff was extremely frail and her shoes were soiled with what appeared to be fecal matter. Part of her slippers were embedded in her skin and her rib bones appeared to be protruding, the report said.
When questioned by police, Rozenti said that he did not have a good relationship with his mother as he was her “illegitimate son,” the affidavit said. He stated that he is aware that his mother needs 24-hour care, but does not provide that for her.
Rozenti then took police to his home that he shared with his mother. Investigators said the home had an odor of urine and feces. “There was what appeared to be fecal stains on the carpet throughout the home, on the walls and light switches,” the report said.
According to the report, Chuboff’s room had limited clothing and no bedding on the mattress. Police found tomatoes, one package of sandwich meat, oatmeal and a few cans of soup in the kitchen, the report said.
After the investigation, Rozenti was arrested for neglect of an elderly person and transported to the St. Lucie Jail.
After treatment at the hospital, Chuboff is to be released to social services, the affidavit states.
