A man and woman have been convicted of financial abuse and physical neglect of an 84-year-old Derby woman, according to a news release from Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett’s office.
Tiffany Williams-McCune, 20 of Derby, pleaded no contest to two felony counts of mistreatment of an elder person. One count was for financial exploitation and one count was for neglecting the physical needs of the victim. Last November, District Judge David Kaufman sentenced the woman to 12 months in prison. She is the great granddaughter of the victim, Leslie Jeffries.
Jacoby Reeves, 23 of Derby, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of mistreatment of an elder person and a misdemeanor charge of mistreatment. The felony was related to neglecting the physical needs of Jeffries and the misdemeanor was related to financial exploitation. On July 28, Judge Kaufman sentenced Reeves to 12 months of probation with an underlying sentence of 12 months in jail. If he violates the terms of his probation, Judge Kaufman could impose the jail sentence.
A joint investigation by the Derby Police Department and the Kansas Department of Children and Families revealed that the defendants were in a dating relationship and helped care for the victim in her home. The investigation showed that Williams-McCune and Reeves made unauthorized financial transactions totaling over $20,000 on the victim’s accounts while living with her.
The investigation further revealed that in December of 2021, Williams-McCune and Reeves ignored a medical emergency involving the victim and failed to get her help when she suffered a brain hemorrhage at home. Jeffries died a short time later in the hospital.
Derby police officers found the elderly woman unresponsive and lying awkwardly on a couch in the basement of the home on Dec. 7, 2021, while the defendants slept upstairs. The officers had gone to the house to check on Ms. Jeffries after being notified that other family members were concerned about her welfare. Ms. Jeffries had been showing symptoms of cognitive and physical impairment the previous day, but neither Williams-McCune nor Reeves sought medical care for her.
An autopsy showed that Ms. Jeffries had a variety of medical issues with a history of falling, which may have caused the subdural hematoma that led to her death.
