NORTH PORT, Fla. -- Police have arrested a North Port woman they say beat a 91-year-old man and left him to die. Thankfully the victim survived.
45-year-old Elena Erickson has been arrested for the crime and charged with Attempted Murder and Tampering with Evidence.
According to North Port Police, Erickson has been providing in-home care to the World War II veteran for years, but their relationship took a violent turn the night of May 15th.
Erickson had called 911 on May 16th, telling authorities she arrived at the victim's home that morning to find him lying in a pool of blood, and that she had last seen him at 10:30 PM the previous night. The victim was taken to the Venice ER with injuries to his head and forearms.
After the victim's health stabilized he told police that on the night of the 15th, he and Erickson had an argument over payment for her services. He says Erickson took an aluminum oxygen tank and hit him twice in the head with it.
The victim began wrestling with the woman to take the bottle away from her, and suffered injuries to his arms in the process. He says Erickson refused his orders to call 911. She began cleaning up the blood with towels and later hit him in the head two more times.
She then held the victim down with a chair while he drifted in and out of consciousness before leaving early the next morning.
The victim is now recovering back at home after a brief hospital stay.
Erickson is in custody of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
North Port Police would like to thank the quick actions of North Port Fire Rescue for getting the victim lifesaving care. They would also like to thank the staff at Venice Regional Bayfront Health for notifying the agency about the suspicious injuries.
