Canada: Case sets legal precedent in elder abuse arena
A Scarborough man who admitted he treated his dog better than his ailing mother was convicted of manslaughter yesterday, even though his actions did not directly cause the woman’s death — setting a legal first in an elder abuse case. Mr. Justice Edward Then found Donald Noseworthy guilty of “significantly contributing” to the death of his 78-year-old mother, Mary, two years ago. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and died of congestive heart failure. In most cases, a manslaughter conviction hinges on a person directly causing someone’s death. But Judge Then agreed with a pathologist who testified that Noseworthy’s regular beatings on the woman, along with his mother’s malnutrition, “accelerated” her demise. Boseworthy, 55, pleaded guilty to failure to provide the necessities of life to his mother, who died on July 14, 2005. But Crown prosecutor Rosemarie Juginovic pushed to have the man convicted of the more serious manslaughter charge after a police investigation revealed Noseworthy didn’t call 911 in the last days of his mother’s life, fearing he’d be charged for the abuse inflicted on the incontinent woman. “Because of the extensive bruising to her face and despite the knowledge she was near starvation, [Noseworthy] was hoping the situation would improve on its own,” Judge Then said. “This was a fool’s paradise.”