A man and woman have been convicted of financial abuse and physical neglect of an 84-year-old Derby woman.
20-year-old Tiffany Williams-McCune, 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. Williams-McCune was sentenced to one year in prison last November. She is the great granddaughter of the elderly woman, Leslie Jeffries.
23-year-old Jacoby Reeves, also of Derby, pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges of mistreatment of an elder person. The felony was related to neglecting the physical needs of Ms. Jeffries and the misdemeanor was related to financial exploitation. Reeves was sentenced to 12 months probation with an underlying sentence of 12 months in jail on July 28th. If he violates the terms of his probation, a jail sentence could be imposed.
A joint investigation by the Derby Police Department and the Kansas Department of Children and Families revealed that the defendants helped care for Jeffries in her home. They learned that both 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, failing to get Jeffries help when she suffered a brain hemorrhage at home. Ms. Jeffries died a short time later in the hospital.
Derby police officers found Jeffries unresponsive on a couch in the basement of the home on Dec. 7th, 2021, while the Williams-McCune and Reeves slept upstairs. Police were notified by family members that they were concerned about Jeffries’ welfare. She had reportedly 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 injuries that led to her death.
