Pensacola caretaker arrested after ECSO finds elderly woman living with wounds and filth

Escambia County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a 50-year-old Pensacola woman Wednesday evening after finding an elderly woman living in filthy conditions.

Deputies charged Ronda Maddax with neglect of the elderly or disabled with great harm after finding an elderly woman unable to walk living in a cockroach-infested home with feces surrounding the living area.

Upon the deputies arrival, they observed "(victim) to look extremely emaciated and having severe bruising to her face."

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"(She) was also covered in urine and feces due to her inability to walk on her own and use a toilet," the report noted.

Maddax's arrest report noted that the living room floor was covered with several cases of beer cans, cockroaches and black mold.

"The couch in which (victim) was sitting was covered in both animal and human feces and mold," the report outlined. "In the kitchen area was an old mattress that was covered in feces and had bugs crawling on it. The refrigerator also had bugs in it."

A person who familiar with the situation reportedly told deputies the woman has a degenerative disease that prevents her from walking by herself.

Maddax told deputies that she is the elderly woman's caretaker and lives in the upstairs portion of the house, the only clean room in the house, according to one of the reporting deputies.

Deputies immediately called EMS and transported the woman to Ascension Sacred Heart where paramedics informed the deputies that the woman "was covered in bed bugs, feces, and had several burn marks on her body, some of which had advanced stages of healing."

Paramedics also told deputies the elderly woman had indications her orbital bone had been broken several times without medical treatment, resulting in "severe disfigurement."

The report did not specify if Maddax is a private caretaker or family member.

Maddax remains in Escambia County Jail on $50,000 bond.

Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola woman arrested for neglect of elderly victim