Elderly Abuse Allegations : Court Documents Tell Story of Woman, 86

Anna P. Knost’s husband had died and other family members were unable to care for her. So, on her doctor’s advice, the 86-year-old woman hired someone to provide that care and share her home on Calle Mayo in San Clemente.

This week, 20 months after a woman and her son moved in and, authorities allege, began mistreating Knost, leaving her unattended for hours and bilking her out of more than $25,000, the Orange County district attorney’s office accused them of committing the county’s first case of felony elder abuse.

Son Turns Himself In

On Tuesday, Kevin Prescott, 22, turned himself in to authorities; his mother, Jacqueline Anderson, 40, had already been taken into custody. Both are accused of swindling Knost and endangering her life. If convicted, each could receive up to four years in state prison.

” . . . She (Knost) trusted both of these people and did not feel they would take advantage of her,” Dist. Atty.’s Investigator Kenneth Jones said in court records filed this week. “Both Anderson and Prescott were in positions of trust and had developed it to the point that they were able to have Knost sign papers and checks without her reading them.”

In court records, Jones and prosecutors also charged that the mother and son neglected the elderly woman’s health to the point that her life was in danger.

Prescott and Anderson, both of San Clemente, are to be arraigned Tuesday before Judge Arthur G. Koelle in South Orange County Municipal Court. Anderson remains in custody, in lieu of $25,000 bail, but Prescott was freed on his own recognizance, court officials said.

Court documents also contend that Anderson duped Knost into selling her house to Anderson for a below-market value. Anderson persuaded the woman to give her joint-check-writing authority on Knost’s accounts. The result, prosecutors charge, is that thousands of dollars of the elderly woman’s money are now unaccounted for. No exact total was given, but court documents said the loss exceeds $25,000.

The elderly woman has since been placed in an unidentified board-and-care home and Orange County officials have arranged for a conservator to watch over what remains of her finances.

The case against Anderson and Prescott was developed by prosecutors during five months of investigation.

“Prescott, while being paid to stay with Knost, repeatedly left her alone,” Jones alleged in the court documents. “He (Prescott) did not provide the care for her that he was being paid to do. Knost was not eating, was unbathed, wore dirty clothes and was being left unattended for long periods of time. . . . Many witnesses indicated (during investigation interviews) that they felt Prescott and Anderson were both neglecting Knost.”

Jones alleged that Knost’s doctor recommended Anderson, even though Anderson is not a state-licensed caretaker. Anderson moved in with the elderly woman and “poisoned Knost against her family,” Jones charged, by telling her that family members were stealing from her.

Jones said that Anderson ultimately convinced Knost that the woman’s finances were nearly exhausted and that she should sell her car and remaining stocks. Anderson also convinced the woman to sell her house to Anderson, the investigator added. The sale price was not listed, but court documents said the price was below market value.

When Knost became fearful of Anderson, Jones continued, she hired the woman’s son, who also allegedly lacks a required state license. But Jones said that Prescott left the elderly woman alone often and allowed her and her house to become filthy.

Despite frail health, Knost has a competent mind, Jones said, but is unable to handle her finances. Knost was therefore easily duped by Anderson and her son, the investigator charged. According to court documents, Knost did not even realize that papers she signed transferred ownership of her home to Anderson.