Elena Erickson. Photo courtesy of Fox News.
Summary: A Florida home caretaker was found guilty of elder abuse and attempted murder.
It is sickening to entrust someone to care for the elderly, and then that person abuses them. In the case of Elena Erickson, 47, however, she did the unimaginable.
Hired to care for a 92-year-old World War II veteran, Erickson shocked her Florida town when she allegedly beat the man nearly to death with his oxygen tank.
“It’s ironic that the instrument that was supposed to sustain his life was then used as a weapon to almost take his life,” Assistant State Attorney Kennedy Legler said to Fox News. “The victim and State Attorney’s Office are very pleased with the jury’s verdict.”
On Friday, a jury found Erickson guilty of attempted second-degree murder and aggravated abuse of the elderly. She will be sentenced in October by Circuit Judge Debra Johnes Riva.
North Port, Florida police said that Erickson hit Michael Tristano in the head multiple times with his tank in May of 2016. Once lying unconscious on the floor, she left him alone, and the next day, she returned, only to find that he was still alive. That’s when she called 9-1-1.
Tristano told police that Erickson had shown up on the night of the attack to check on him, and while there, they got into a heated argument about money. She demanded a blank check, and when he refused, she started to hit him repeatedly with his oxygen tank.
Tristano said that he was bleeding and begged for help, but that all she would do was give him a paper towel. He told the police that she had pinned him to the floor with a chair before she left for the night.
The Bradenton Herald said that Tristano’s daughter had tried reaching him the next morning and was alarmed when he wouldn’t answer. She called Erickson to check up on her dad, and when Erickson arrived at the house and called paramedics, she lied and said that the alive but unconscious man had fallen.
In the hospital, Tristano had recovered and was able to tell police his side of the story. The police had shown up after hospital workers had made a call, suspicious about his injuries.
“This was a very complex case which required a thorough investigation, both in the financial and physical crime aspect,” North Port Police wrote on Facebook. “Our investigators and crime scene techs did an amazing job of making sure justice was served.”
Police added that Tristano was a fighter and that they were honored to serve him the way he had served his country.
“We also thank the victim in this case for his fighting spirit throughout and his service to our country,” police said. “He fought for us and we are proud to have fought for him.”
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