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ELKINS -- A Beverly woman, who was charged with elder abuse for allegedly hitting and strangling a woman who was in her care, was present for a preliminary hearing this week.
Cassie Lynn Pell, 36, appeared in Randolph County Magistrate Court Wednesday afternoon. During the hearing, Magistrate Mike Dyer ruled cause was found for the case to be bound over to Randolph County Circuit Court. Pell is charged with elder abuse and neglect, a felony.
Pell is currently being held in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $15,000 cash bond.
During the hearing Wednesday, her attorney, Tyler Reseter, made a motion for a modification of bail, stating that Pell is not a flight risk and the amount of cash is far too high for her to secure.
Assistant Randolph County Prosecutor Leckta Poling opposed the motion, saying Pell was still a threat to the community, though Reseter argued that the victim is currently living out of town with Pell's sister. Dyer denied the motion for bond modification.
Deputy J. Wolfe of the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, who performed the initial welfare check, was called to the stand by the prosecution to give witness testimony about what he saw at the home. The alleged victim was not present in court to give testimony.
Wolfe testified he was called to perform a welfare check on an elderly woman at a home outside of Beverly on Aug. 13. Randolph County 911 was contacted by a life alert company on the women's behalf.
When Wolfe arrived at the home he said the alleged victim was in a state of distress, claiming that Pell "destroyed her house" and had hit her head and chest. Wolfe found that the woman, who is in her late 70s, did have a bump on her head "consistent with being struck."
The alleged victim also said she was "in so much pain" that she couldn't think straight and claimed Pell had also strangled her at some point in the week, though Wolfe saw no sign of strangulation.
Wolfe described to the court that the living room of the home appeared to be in disarray, with things broken on the floor and "containers and plates of food containing spoiled and molded meat on the living room floor."
Pell, who lived in a camper next to the home, told Wolfe that she was the full-time caretaker for the alleged victim, though the elderly woman claimed she did not need full-time care. When asked if it appeared that the woman was receiving any kind of home-health assistance, Wolfe said, "It didn't seem like much."
"I believe she needs someone to be there with her more often within the residence given that she had to walk with a walker," Wolfe said when asked what type of help he thought she required. "She needs help cleaning, given that there was rotten food on the ground, probably cleaning up the mess that was caused that day. Somebody to just care for her."
Pell, according to Wolfe, was in charge of the alleged victim's finances, paying the bills with the woman's social security money. Pell did not receive any financial compensation for taking care of her. Wolfe said no financial exploitation was found during his investigation.
Wolfe said that Pell allegedly took the elderly woman's walker, cell phone and house keys away from her and took them to the camper. Pell claimed that she took the walker due to the alleged victim having hit her with it, though Wolfe saw no sign of injury on Pell and she did not complain of any pain.
Wolfe said Pell told him, "We get mad, we fight" and "She hit me and I grabbed her."
Pell told Wolfe she took the cellphone away from the victim so she "could not break it," but when asked to return the alleged victim's cell phone, Pell, according to Wolfe, attempted to take the battery out of the cell phone.
"I believe this was an intentional attempt to deprive (the alleged victim) of her means of communication," Wolfe wrote in the criminal complaint he filed. Wolfe told the court he did not see a landline or any other phone in the house.
Pell also allegedly refused to give the elderly woman all of her house keys back, saying, "That's how I get inside to make sure she don't bust her a-," according to the criminal complaint.
The alleged victim expressed fear of Pell, telling Wolfe she worried that Pell would burn the house down or hurt her again. According to Wolfe, Pell told him, "I want her to burn in hell. I'll make sure of it."
Wolfe also told the court that he spoke to the alleged victim's neighbors, who expressed concern about her safety, claiming that when they tried to approach the home in the past, Pell would chase them away with her two dogs.
Wolfe testified he had been by the residence before for a trespassing call and that another officer had been to the house previously, though Wolfe did not know why.