An 86-year-old woman was found padlocked in a filthy Mesa home last week, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies were called to the home near Brown and Ellsworth roads to check on a woman who was bed ridden. They found the home was secured with a padlock and could hear the woman inside pleading for help.
Deputies broke the padlock and found the woman in filth. The home was reportedly filled with animal feces, garbage and rotten food. Deputies reported the woman was wearing a diaper, filled with her own waste.
"It was worse then something you would see in the movies, and nothing has been done," caregiver Kim Fry said.
Fry was hired by the relatives of the woman. Fry says relatives weren't tending to the elderly woman's most basic needs.
"I would come over, and I would find her every single morning in worse and worse conditions," she said.
Fry says she confronted relatives last Wednesday and threatened to get authorities involved. The next day, she returned to the home to find a padlock on the door.
"I listened, I listened, I listened and I could hear the dog barking and I could hear Kathy screaming for help," Fry said.
Neighbors were shocked that somebody even lived in the home, which rarely showed any sign of life.
"I thought for sure they were coming out with a dead body, but they said she was alive," neighbor Amanda Carruthers said.
The elderly woman is in the hospital, recovering from bed sores and dehydration.
So far, no charges have been made, but adult protected services launched an investigation and found rotten garbage and animal feces in the woman's home, and they said the home was not livable for anyone.
ABC15 knocked on the door, and called two of the listed phone numbers for the homeowner, but there were no responses.
Late Friday afternoon, the victim's son reached out to ABC15 via phone from California. He placed the blame on the caregiver for not taking care of his elderly mother. He said the padlock was placed on the home to keep the caregiver out.
ABC15 will continue to follow this case.
