REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

California caregiver who beat up 91-year-old bedridden woman arrested as victim's family shot abuse on hidden cam

Rima Abikaram, a family friend of the victim, was hired in 2015 to provide 24-hour help and support to the old woman at her Costa Mesa home
PUBLISHED SEP 4, 2020
(Costa Mesa Police)
(Costa Mesa Police)

COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA: A caregiver has been arrested after she was found allegedly hitting a bed-ridden 91-year-old woman. Costa Mesa Police revealed on Thursday, September 3, that Rima Abikaram was caught on hidden camera striking the elderly at least 150 times. The 50-year-old accused was arrested on September 1 on the accusation of striking "Jane Doe" while in her care.

According to reports, Abikaram, a family friend of the victim’s family was hired in 2015 along with another caregiver to provide 24-hour help and support to the old woman. The victim stayed at her Costa Mesa home and is confined to a medical bed. The initial suspicion on the accused arose when another carer noticed visible injuries on the body of "Jane Doe". She then reported the family about it, FOX29 reported.

After another carer’s complaint, the victim’s family installed a hidden camera in the home to keep an eye on the elderly as well as on the caregiver. The camera helped them find out the abuse the old woman was suffering. They saw Abikaram abusing and striking the victim, police said.

The family fired the accused from her job on August 18 and reported the elderly abuse to the Costa Mesa Police Department (CMPD). During the investigation, police reviewed the hidden camera footage and discovered that over a 4-day period, Abikaram hit the woman more than 150 times. A medical test conducted on the woman revealed swelling to her face, a black eye, and a laceration to her arm. Police arrested Abikaram without incident on September 1 from her home. The case was then handed over to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

In another incident, a woman and her daughter were arrested after an elderly Virginia woman was found with maggots in the urine. The 74-year-old woman was reportedly under the care of Shannon Tipton and her adult daughter Brianna Tipton when the alleged abuse happened. The victim is Shannon’s mother. Shannon is reportedly the old woman’s primary caregiver besides as well as her financial Power of Attorney/Responsible Party, while her daughter Brianna was being paid by Medicare to care for her.

It was reported that the mother-daughter duo admitted to locking up the victim in her bedroom from the outside at night to “prevent her from wandering”. The suspects also mentioned that they would put the woman to bed at around 9 in the night and lock her room from outside without checking on her for nearly 12 hours later. 

The alleged abuse came to light after SOVAH Hospital in Danville alerted the Pittsylvania County Department of Social Services - Adult Protective Services and they then informed the senior adult abuse and neglect case to Pittsylvania County Sheriff's Office. Shannon and Briana were arrested on July 13 and have been charged with felony abuse and neglect of an incapacitated adult resulting in serious bodily injury or disease. The women have been held in the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center without bond and are scheduled to appear in court on September 9.

RELATED TOPICS CALIFORNIA NEWS
POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW