A former caregiver who left the Cobb County courthouse in late September just before being convicted of elder abuse was captured and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In 2019, Shelia Knight was seen on video shoving 86-year-old Pearl Conner to the ground, shattering the great-grandmother’s hip and fracturing her wrist, authorities said.
The Douglasville woman was hired as a fill-in caretaker to look after Conner at the Legacy at Walton Overlook, a retirement community in downtown Acworth. Conner’s health quickly deteriorated after the attack and she died eight months later at age 87, according to her family.
But Knight vanished from the Cobb courthouse in September right before a jury convicted her of aggravated battery and elder abuse. Knight, who had been at her trial each day, left during the lunch break after the jury asked to re-watch the video of the attack.
“The jury was deliberating. They called us back after reaching a verdict, but when we got back to the courthouse she wasn’t there,” said Conner’s granddaughter Keecia Scott. “We couldn’t believe it. It felt like a Lifetime movie.”
The 64-year-old was on the run eight days before she was captured returning to her home.
With increased security in the courtroom Monday, Knight was sentenced to 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole. The conviction was a huge relief for Conner’s relatives, who had waited nearly three and a half years for the case to be resolved.
“We are overjoyed,” Scott said after the sentencing.
She described her grandmother as a remarkable and caring woman who still managed to take care of herself even after being diagnosed with dementia.
“She was independent, on her own, but had caregivers to keep her company for the most part,” Scott said. “She did all her own cleaning and everything, but once that happened she was no longer mobile. She just declined from there.”
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
Scott said while nothing can bring her grandmother back, her family hopes to prevent something like this from happening to other seniors. Since Conner’s death, they started a nonprofit organization aimed at helping older residents in the community and preventing elder abuse.
Scott said the organization, called “Bright” after her grandmother’s nickname, plans to serve 400 families over the Thanksgiving holiday.
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