An Alberta couple have each been sentenced to four years in prison after the woman’s elderly mother was left lying on the floor for seven to 10 days in her own excrement before the couple called 911.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Kelsey Becker Brookes imposed the sentence on June Briggs and her common-law partner Richard McElroy after finding them guilty of criminal negligence causing the death of Briggs’ mother, Dianne Simmons.
The judge said Simmons was a vulnerable senior who failed to receive “the basic care, dignity, safety and medical assistance she required.”
“Ms. Simmons suffered for days before finally succumbing to her injuries—injuries and a death which were easily preventable.”
While Simmons’s fall did not kill her, she died after being left on the floor without adequate care and medical assistance, the judge wrote.
Related Stories
Despite their intellectual challenges, Briggs and McElroy had “a high degree of responsibility for the offence,” since providing basic care and seeking medical assistance were within their cognitive abilities as independent adults, the decision said.
“The need to emphasize the objectives of denunciation and deterrence is pressing in this case. The message needs to be sent that elder neglect and elder abuse will not be tolerated in Canadian society,” Becker Brookes wrote.
The judge said the case’s mitigating circumstances “were minimal,” while the aggravating circumstances “were appalling.”
The Crown recommended four years in jail, which the judge called a “fit and proper sentence.” The defence had sought a conditional sentence of 12 to 15 months, including two years of house arrest and three years’ probation.
Briggs, 57, and McElroy, 69, were also found guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life, but the Crown entered a conditional stay on that charge.
“There were no guilty pleas. There was no demonstration of expression of remorse or acceptance of responsibility from either party,” the judge wrote.
Case
Simmons, 76, was living with the couple on a rural property in Sturgeon County, north of Edmonton, in 2023. The house had no running water, was unkempt and “was made more unsanitary” by numerous cats, according to the decision.
Simmons was dependent on Briggs and McElroy for care and assistance, including financial support and transportation.
In late May or early June 2023, Simmons fell between two beds in the main living area and could not stand on her own, court documents said.
Neither Briggs nor McElroy moved her to a safe location, took her to the bathroom or cleaned her. Simmons remained on the bare wood floor for seven to 10 days, wearing only a long T-shirt.
“At some point, blankets were placed over her, concealing the feces and urine covering her body,” the judge wrote.
Briggs propped up her mother to feed her, while the couple had to step over Simmons to move around the room.
McElroy called 911 on June 7 after Simmons stopped talking to them. When emergency personnel arrived, Simmons was unresponsive, nearly hypothermic, and covered in feces and urine.
Simmons was transported to hospital by ambulance, but she never regained consciousness and died early the next morning.
“When Ms. Briggs sat with her dying mother [in hospital], she blamed Ms. Simmons for the situation, saying, ‘This is all your fault,’” Becker Brookes wrote.
An investigation found that Simmons’s immediate cause of death was multi-organ failure caused by sepsis from multiple infected, deep pressure wounds on her back and buttocks. Hypothermia exacerbated her death.
A paramedic testified that the house was filthy “and smelled strongly of body odour, ammonia and cats.” He said in his 26 years in the field, he had never encountered a patient in such a condition who lived with other people.
Nurses testified that Simmons had gangrene in both feet, “severely decayed tissue beneath a duct-taped bandage,” uncut toenails, and only seven visible teeth.
“Ms. Simmons’ death was preventable,” the judge wrote. She said Simmons “died a slow, painful, inhumane death” after Briggs and McElroy failed to provide adequate care following her fall or seek medical assistance.
Degree of Responsibility
The defence argued that Briggs’ and McElroy’s intellectual abilities contributed to their failure to help Simmons and should reduce their degree of responsibility.
Witnesses said Briggs “seemed intellectually limited,” but could comprehend instructions and required support “in practical matters like grocery shopping.”
McElroy was described as competent in everyday life, although testing showed he had “limited intellectual abilities, with low scores for abstract thinking, including complex problem-solving.”
The judge was not convinced Briggs’s challenges prevented her from “appreciating the risk to Ms. Simmons” after the fall. She concluded Briggs understood that medical assistance was needed and that a “minimum standard of care” was required.
Similarly, Becker Brookes found no basis to conclude McElroy did not understand the risks Simmons faced or that he could not understand she required a “base level of care” to preserve her health and safety.
The judge pointed to McElroy’s 25 years of employment, independent living, and ability to provide for Briggs and Simmons.
“I conclude the degree of responsibility of both Ms. Briggs and Mr. McElroy is at the high end of the spectrum,” Becker Brookes wrote.
“This is a serious crime with fatal consequences and Ms. Briggs and Mr. McElroy, despite their intellectual and socioeconomic challenges, bear a significant degree of moral blameworthiness.”
Becker Brookes said denunciation and deterrence were the primary objectives of the sentence.
“Seniors are valued and important members of our communities whose experience, wisdom and contributions enrich society,” she wrote.
The judge said seniors should be protected from abuse and exploitation, adding that the sentence should reflect the seriousness of the couple’s conduct and deter similar offences.
While rehabilitation remained a consideration, Becker Brookes said the circumstances of the case meant it should not take priority over denunciation and deterrence.
