Rest Home Elopement Sparks Legal Trouble

Charles Barnes only wanted to marry his sweetheart, but instead, the 92-year-old retired Glendale businessman faces jail and a $1,000 fine for eloping with Constance Driscoll, his 84-year-old inamorata.

“Her husband died 30 years ago, and I told him I’d take care of Connie,” Barnes said, shifting nervously behind his stainless steel walker during an interview Wednesday. “After my wife died eight years ago, I fell in love with her. . . . I just wanted to be with the woman I loved. And now all this.”

The problems with the star-crossed romance began last month after Barnes, ostensibly taking Driscoll to lunch, spirited her out of a residential care home in Northern California. The couple flew back to Glendale, where they were married Sept. 9 in a small, informal ceremony. He then checked her into a new care facility.

Court conservators for Driscoll’s $800,000 estate allege in papers filed in Glendale Superior Court this month that Barnes violated a court order barring anyone from moving Driscoll from the home in Corning, about 500 miles north of Glendale.

Driscoll, who doctors have determined suffers from memory loss and other degenerative symptoms of aging, “is a pawn” whose estate is the real bone of contention, said conservator Stan Mandell.

“Hooey,” Barnes said. “That’s a joke. I didn’t know she had a dime. Anyway, I’ve got my own money. I love her.”

That love could cost Barnes five days in jail, a $1,000 fine and nearly $30,000 in attorney fees and other expenses that conservators allege Barnes has cost them.

Mandell said a bevy of relatives and others are vying for control of Driscoll. Barnes, who claims to be worth $1 million himself, agreed, but said that in his case he only wants to be with his wife.

Photos from the court file show the couple kissing and eating meals together, both smiling and holding hands. But conservators alleged in court that Driscoll’s care has been inadequate.

A week after Driscoll was ensconced in her new home, she disappeared. She was found by firemen hours later, wandering in the street a few blocks away. Taken to Glendale Memorial Hospital, she was determined to be suffering from dehydration and “altered mental states.”

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The conservators had reported Driscoll missing, and when they were notified by police of her hospital treatment, they promptly checked her into yet another residential care home, this time in Pasadena.

“We had to move her to a facility that was safe,” said Mandell, who said he has yet to charge or collect any fees for his services.

Barnes’ attorney, Linda Paquette, said he was unaware of the court order barring any movement of Driscoll--a contention denied by conservators.

“This is crazy,” said Alma Clarette, Barnes’ caregiver, who accompanied him to court Wednesday. “Yes, sometimes Connie is not all together, but when she hears Charlie’s voice, she melts. She just loves him. She says if Charlie wants her heart, she’d gladly give it to him. It’s really lovely.”

Attempts to reach Driscoll were not successful. Driscoll is “not allowed to accept phone calls,” said an administrator of Regency Park, the Pasadena home where she now lives.

“I had visited her a bunch of times before in Northern California,” Barnes said. “She said she wanted out, that she felt like a prisoner. I told her we would go to Glendale and get married. I arranged to have lunch with her, and when we left, we headed for the airport.”

Now, Barnes’ visits with Driscoll are supervised in a public area filled with “advanced Alzheimer’s patients,” which he said restricts them “from enjoying each other’s company.”

Barnes said he hasn’t been able to be alone with his wife since she was placed in Regency Park on Sept. 22.

On Wednesday, a hearing in the case was delayed until Nov. 17.

“This is shocking to me,” Barnes said to reporters assembled outside court. “I’m a very private person. Inherently I’m bashful, always have been. I just wanted to be with the woman I loved and now all this.

“I’m no Casanova,” he said. “I just hope the media shows how ridiculous all this is, what kind of problems it’s caused me and my wife.”