Couple Left 93-Year-Old Woman Alone on Floor Without Food, Water: Sheriff

Two years after a 93-year-old great-great grandmother died as a result of being left alone on a bedroom floor without food or water, authorities have made arrests in the murder case, according to a local sheriff's office.

The elderly victim, identified as Dora Jordan, died in October 2021, and Georgia authorities on Saturday arrested her granddaughter, Angela Nicole Patton, and Patton's boyfriend David Glyn Smith, more than two years after Jordan's death, according to a statement by the Haralson County Sheriff's Office (HCSO).

Patton, 42, of Buchanan, Georgia, and 50-year-old Smith, of Lindale, have each been charged with murder and cruelty to a person age 65 or older, according to the sheriff's office.

Newsweek reached out via email on Tuesday to the HCSO for comment and an update on the case. It was unclear at the time of publication whether Patton or Smith had retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

In September 2021, HCSO Sheriff Stacy Williams went to a residence for a welfare check on an elderly person when the sheriff heard a "faint cry for help" inside. Williams made entry to the home and found the 93-year-old on her bedroom floor in "very weak condition."

"Ms. Jordan had fallen and been without food or water for an extended period of time and she was transported to the hospital," HCSO said in the statement, which was shared on Facebook.

Patton and Smith returned home the following evening and were taken into custody on cruelty charges.

On October 27, 2021, one month after she was found alone on the floor, Jordan died. Her death was deemed a homicide by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Medical Examiner's Office in March 2022, and the case was reopened. After a "lengthy and thorough investigation," on December 4, 2023, the evidence was presented to the Haralson County Grand Jury, which chose to indict Patton and Smith, HCSO said.

"This case shocked the consciousness of so many citizens when we made the original arrest," Williams said. "Good people don't understand how anyone could mistreat an elderly person, much less a grandparent. This case became even worse when Mrs. Jordan passed away from this treatment."

Patton and Smith were ultimately arrested around 2 a.m. Saturday after they were found in a shed on a property in Floyd County where the couple "refused to come out," HCSO said.

A search warrant was obtained and deputies from HCSO and the Floyd County Sheriff's Office entered the shed and took the pair into custody. Patton and Smith are being held without bond in Haralson County Jail.

Jordan's obituary said the 93-year-old great-great-grandmother loved to cross stitch, oil paint and read. She was a fan of the Atlanta Braves, who were in the middle of the World Series at the time of her death.