Connecticut home health aide accused of hitting, tying up elderly woman
STAMFORD (WABC) -- An 87-year old woman from Connecticut was hit and tied up with phone wires.
The suspect is her home health aide, who may have been stealing from her too.
"I didn't have a phone, I couldn't call anybody to help me," said the victim, Dorothy Tregelles.
She didn't have a working phone because the cord had been ripped out of the wall, and she needed help because that cord was wrapped around her hands and feet.
The suspect, not an intruder, but the person entrusted to take care of her. Police have arrested Awilda Figueroa for allegedly abusing the woman.
"She said, 'You can't go to the bathroom, you can't do anything. So just be quiet and don't bother me'", said Tregelles.
She lives in a building for seniors in Stamford. Figueroa was her live-in attendant for about a month. In that time, Tregelles says the 48-year old abused drugs, stole from her and brought people to the apartment to have sex.
"She threatened me. She said, 'If you tell anybody you could get drowned in the shower'. I was afraid to take a shower," said Tregelles.
Eventually she told her doctor, who contacted the home care agency. Figueroa was fired, and police got involved.
Figueroa has been charged with unlawful restraint, intentional cruelty and assault on an elderly woman, charges that could be upgraded if police determine Figueroa also stole from her elderly employer.
"She said, 'the trouble with you is that you can't take a joke'. I said, Well I don't find it very funny," said Tregelles.
She is originally from Georgia, went to college in Connecticut and worked in public relations. Her only son lives in North Carolina, unaware of what was happening.
Tregelles decided to tell her story because she fears she is not alone. "I think how this is happening to so many people, older people and they're too afraid to say anything," she said.
Figueroa is being held on $75,000 bail. In the meantime, Tregelles has a new aide, who she describes as the best she's ever had.
