A Florida woman has been arrested after she allegedly locked her elderly mother, who is battling dementia and Alzheimer’s, in her bedroom, and she is now facing more charges after she allegedly drained her mom’s “life savings.”
Janet Edwards was charged with elderly exploitation, grand theft from a person 65 or older, organized scheme to defraud and identity theft on Friday, June 5, according to online records viewed by Us Weekly.
Edwards, 49, allegedly sold her 78-year-old mother’s home and kept $460,000 from the sale for herself, according to an arrest warrant viewed by Law & Crime. She was accused of moving $250,000 to her own bank accounts, as well as spending more than $24,000 of her mother’s money to buy a pickup truck.
Additionally, Edwards was accused of forging her mom’s signature on more than $15,000 in life insurance payouts and she allegedly posed as her mother during phone calls with the insurance company.
“The investigation has determined that the subject, Janet Edwards, used her position of trust as the victim’s daughter and caregiver to exploit her,” the arrest warrant stated. “The subject took advantage of the victim’s advanced age, age-related infirmities, and severe cognitive impairments to unlawfully and permanently deprive the victim of her life savings by committing acts of fraud and identity theft for subject’s own personal gain and benefit.”
Edwards, who had power of attorney over her mother, was previously arrested in October 2025 after she allegedly locked up her mom and neglected her. At the time, she was charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled adult and battery on a person 65 or older.
“The defendant [Edwards] said on five occasions she has seen the victim with feces in her hands and consuming it,” her original arrest affidavit claimed, per the outlet.
Edwards’ children accused her of slapping their grandmother around, as well as intentionally forcing her to fend for herself.
“She’s going to learn because she is always doing this,” Edwards allegedly told her adult son about her mother after he stopped by their residence to check on them in May 2025, per the affidavit.
Edwards’ son opened his grandmother’s bedroom door during the visit and “saw her in Pampers with feces in both of her hands,” per the affidavit. When the son allegedly told Edwards to “clean her,” she refused and said her mother needed to “learn” her lesson.
“The bedroom door was locked from the outside,” police said in the affidavit. “[The son] observed the victim laying on an air mattress and there was no electricity.”
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Police said that Edwards’ adult daughter also reported instances of neglect and abuse regarding incidents that took place in August 2025 and September 2025.
Edwards is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County on a $55,000 bond.
It is not currently clear if Edwards has entered a plea or retained legal counsel regarding any of her charges.
If you are experiencing elder abuse or suspect someone you know is, you can call the Eldercare Locator at (800) 677-1116 and speak to a specially trained operator who can refer you to a local agency that can help. The Eldercare Locator accepts calls Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
