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A message for the cast and crew of the Berkshire District Attorney's Office: I've got three words for you...WAY TO GO! Maybe it's because my family slowly watched my father waste away from a crippling brain disease in a nursing home, but I simply cannot stand watching the elderly suffer needlessly.

That's why this news regarding the outcome of a caregiver neglect case with the final verdict being guilty brings me some comfort because to mistreat another human being so thoughtlessly is just wrong.

According to a media statement from the Berkshire DA's Office, a guilty verdict was obtained in an evidence-based elder abuse prosecution after a two-day Central Berkshire District Court jury trial Wednesday afternoon. The jury found 64-year-old Lynn Lodovico, of Tolland, guilty of a single count of caretaker neglect.

Lodovico agreed to become the caretaker for the 84-year-old victim and eventually moved the bedridden victim into a plumbing shop with insufficient utilities and under renovation in Sandisfield in October of 2019. The victim became malnourished and dehydrated.

Lifepath and the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office began the investigation after Lodovico filed a self-neglect claim on the victim for failing to care for herself. Lifepath and Sandisfield Fire/EMS removed the victim from the dwelling in November 2019.

The State Police Lee Barracks’ subsequent investigation found that Lodovico was reckless in her care for the victim. The victim died before trial and the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office proceeded to trial without the victim’s testimony.

Judge Danielle L. Williams sentenced Lodovico to one year in jail, suspended for two years. The guilty verdict also prevents Lodovico, who worked in a local nursing home, from working as a caretaker and orders her to consult with Mass Rehabilitation. The DA's Office requested that Lodovico serve one year direct at the Berkshire County House of Correction.

Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington had this to say in the media statement:

My office remains committed to the most vulnerable members of our community. This guilty verdict will ensure that Ms. Lodovico does not have the opportunity to mistreat another aging person.

Thanks to all the members of law enforcement and the DA's Office for all of their hard work.