Geneva sisters charged with neglect in elderly mother's death

Two Geneva women have been accused of negligence in the death of their 84-year-old mother, who was discovered lying in filth on insect-covered sheets, her 70-pound body riddled with bedsores, authorities said Wednesday.

Jill Barry, 53, and her sister, Julie, 46, were indicted by a Kane County grand jury of two counts each of criminal neglect of an elderly person in the death of Mary Virginia Barry.

She was found barely alive April 27 in her home on the 400 block of Peyton Street, where medics were summoned after she apparently had suffered a stroke. Inside, they said they found a horrid scene.

The old woman's spine showed through open sores that ran along her back. Ants crawled over other sores also on her feet, hands and arms, and on the feces- and urine-stained sheets she lay on.

"This was so horrendous that when the paramedics responded, they were appalled by what they found," Kane County Coroner Chuck West said Wednesday.

Barry was taken to Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, where she died the next week from complications of pneumonia, bladder cancer, dehydration and malnutrition, which prosecutors say was caused by neglect.

The Barry sisters, who live at the home on Peyton Street, were indicted Tuesday. Bond has not been set for the two women, who are scheduled to appear in court Jan. 29 before Judge Allen Anderson.

Their attorney, Gary Johnson of Aurora, was unavailable for comment.

Prosecutors weighed murder charges against the two women but decided to pursue the case with lesser felonies, State's Attorney John Barsanti said.

"It's a case that's not only important to prosecute, but it's also an issue that's important to bring to the attention of the public," Barsanti said.

The Barry sisters have told investigators they never noticed unusual sores or smells and had bathed their mother regularly, according to testimony at her inquest in July.

Mary Barry's death, which a coroner's jury ruled a homicide, marked one of the first tests for a county task force that investigates when an elderly person dies under suspicious circumstances.

As such cases receive more attention in the courts and social service arenas, it's not uncommon to see caregivers facing charges, said Scott Larson, a former Kane County prosecutor who oversaw elder abuse cases.

"It's almost like abusing a child," Larson said. "If you're responsible for care of an elderly person and you knowingly neglect that care, then you can be charged with a crime."