Caretaker Jailed, Accused Of Abusing 83-Year-Old Veteran

A caretaker is accused of beating and starving an elderly veteran in a home in northwest Oklahoma City.

An arrest warrant details the allegations of abuse in Sharon Ferree's home near NW 122 and May Avenue.

Neighbors like Anthony Grajeda said they've called police on numerous occasions after suspecting abuse inside the home.

"You could hear the man screaming," Anthony Grajeda said. "It was like he was getting hit or yelling for help to stop or something like that."

Oklahoma City police began investigating in August 2016, when a witness from inside the home called to report that an 83-year-old man with dementia was physically abused.

According to court records, when officers arrived, they found the man locked in a room.

The door to the room had been tied shut with an electrical cord.

Investigators said Ferree forced the man to sit in a recliner in his own waste.

In this instance, she's accused of locking him in the room for two months.

Although the man told investigators it happened frequently and often for weeks, even months, at a time.

Ferree is also accused of punching, choking and starving the veteran.

Court records show the man got so hungry, he began eating non-food items in the room.

"It is just really sad because he seemed nice," Grajeda said. He had no idea the extent of what was going on in the home.

But Grajeda said he did witness the man trying to escape several times.

The veteran was taken to a Veteran Affairs hospital in the metro.

Ferree is now the one locked up.

She's being held on complaints of aggravated assault and battery to the elderly, abuse by caretaker, and domestic assault and battery by strangulation.

Her bond is set at $25,000.