A Florida woman has been arrested for allegedly abusing and neglecting her 77-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, by locking her in a bedroom and refusing to change her soiled adult diapers, according to police.
Authorities say 49-year-old Janet Edwards of Hialeah repeatedly denied basic care to her mother, leaving her in unsanitary and dangerous conditions. Edwards allegedly told her own children that her elderly mother “was going to learn” after soiling herself.
An arrest affidavit states that Edwards’ adult son discovered the disturbing scene in May 2025 when he visited their home. Police say he found his grandmother wearing dirty Pampers, with feces in both hands, while locked inside a dark bedroom without electricity.
When he asked Edwards to clean her mother, she refused, allegedly saying the woman needed to “learn” her lesson. Officers noted that the room was locked from the outside and that the victim had been left on an air mattress surrounded by filth.
Edwards’ son, who was removed from her care as a teenager due to prior abuse allegations, told investigators that he and his sister had witnessed their mother mistreating their grandmother multiple times. Edwards’ daughter reportedly provided police with text messages showing photos of the elderly woman holding feces, along with messages from Edwards saying she “smelled s— and was going back to bed.”
According to the affidavit, Edwards admitted that she was her mother’s sole caregiver and claimed she had become “upset and frustrated” with the constant care demands. She denied ever hitting or physically assaulting her mother.
Edwards was arrested and charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled adult and battery on a person 65 or older. She was booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and later released with orders to stay away from her mother. Her next court date is scheduled for December 19.