BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A man and woman were arrested after an elderly woman in a Brevard County senior living facility was found with bruises on Christmas, according to arrest warrants.
Police said that an 82-year-old woman in the care of Alura Senior Living in Rockledge was discovered with several bruises on her head and face on Christmas Day. Due to the woman having dementia, however, police were unable to get a statement from her about how she was injured, an affidavit shows.
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Following a weeks-long investigation into the facility and its employees, detectives announced that one of the caregivers — Daniel Villarreal, 30 — was believed to be responsible for the abuse.
According to detectives, Villarreal struck and choked the woman on Christmas Day. Villarreal is also believed to have put makeup on the woman’s face to hide the injuries he caused, police said.
Following the attack, 44-year-old Kelly Shovlin, another worker at the facility, instructed Villarreal to clean the woman’s laundry, bedding and blood to hide the evidence from investigators, police said. Detectives stated that Shovlin also told Villarreal to tell police that he hadn’t been aware of any injuries to the woman.
The woman’s daughter later found her with the injuries, prompting her to take the woman to a doctor, police said. Court records show that the senior woman had suffered severe bruising and a brain bleed.
Despite Shovlin and Villarreal repeatedly lying to investigators about their roles in the incident, detectives eventually determined that Villarreal and Shovlin were connected to the abuse, court records show.
Villarreal faces charges of aggravated abuse of an elderly person and tampering with evidence. He was held on $225,000 bond.
Shovlin faces charges of tampering with evidence and providing false information to law enforcement during the investigation. She was held on a $3,000 bond.
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