Caregiver arrested after allegedly beating 83-year-old

GLENDALE — A 41-year-old caregiver was arrested early Monday after he allegedly beat an 83-year-old woman with a metal folding chair, nearly to death, police said.

Luis Cuevas of Glendale was taken into custody on suspicion of attempting to kill the woman, for whom he cared for five years, according to Glendale police reports.

The woman was later released from Glendale Memorial Hospital, where she was treated for bruises, cuts and swelling throughout her body, police spokeswoman Sherri Servillo said.

Neighbors called police just after 1:06 a.m. to report hearing Cuevas screaming and throwing objects inside the woman’s home on the 1800 block of Verdugo Knolls Drive.

Neighbors allegedly heard Cuevas yell “Don’t move” and “Pistola,” which is Spanish for gun. They also reporting hearing the woman say, “There is blood on my face.”

Cuevas apparently stormed into the woman’s room as she was getting ready to sleep and accused her of trying to kill his sister, police said.

He began speaking in Spanish, which she didn’t understand, then grabbed a folding chair and allegedly

struck her several times, sending her

100-pound frame onto the bed.

Cuevas then allegedly started punching the woman, who police did not identify.

At some point during the alleged beating, the woman was able to get up and walk to a staircase, but Cuevas allegedly pushed her back into the room and continued his assault, police said.

Using infrared cameras, a police helicopter unit spotted Cuevas standing on the balcony and over the woman, said Sgt. Steve Robertson of Glendale-Burbank Police Joint Air Support Unit.

The aircrew remained overheard as officers entered the home and arrested Cuevas.

The woman allowed Cuevas to live rent free inside her home in exchange for his help with running errands, according to police. The woman also paid him for any home repairs.

But in recent months, she was unable to able to pay him.

Police obtained an emergency protective order for the woman to keep Cuevas away.

Cuevas is expected to be arraigned today in a Los Angeles County Superior Courtroom in Glendale.

He is being held at the city jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, according to police records.