Woman on garage floor broken hip, 70 cats in home
Fort Thomas, KY (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 13, 2000
County: Campbell
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Phillp T. Sarakatsannis
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Phillip T. Sarakatsannis, 32, son of Bonnie Sarakatsannis was released Wednesday afternoon from the Campbell County Jail after posting 10 percent of his $25,000 bail. The Southgate man is charged with second-degree criminal abuse, a felony that carries a penalty of one to five years in prison if he is convicted.
Bonnie Sarakatsannis, 69, was found lying on a sheet in a foul-smelling garage floor, her hip broken and her backside covered with bedsores. It is not known when she broke her hip or how long she had been on the garage floor.
The police think Mrs Sarakatsannis was in the garage for at least three weeks while dozens of cats roamed the feces and urine stained house.
The authorities had to put on protective gear to enter the foul smelling house. The house had holes in the ceilings, walls, furniture had been used as scratching posts by its nearly 70 feline occupants and floors marked by dry cat food, bowls of water, urine and feces.
Fort Thomas Police Sergeant Wayne Turner said, "It was like something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie." Words couldn't describe the horrible stench and unsanitary conditions inside the home.
"It's bad enough when you think of those animals, but to have someone's mother lying on the garage floor with a broken hip..... "
Neighbors had complained for years about the stench, but when city inspectors checked the property no one seemed to be at home.
Sgt Turner said, "Until the criminal case evolved, we didn't have probable cause to go inside the house."
A notice of condemnation has been posted on the Scenic View Drive home. Animal control officers removed dozens of cats from the property. As the property owner, Mrs Sarakatsannis has 20 days to appear the notice. If she doesn't appeal, she has 30 days to correct the violations or to offer a plan for doing so.
The house which had no electricity, gas or running water could be razed if no appeal is filed, no timely action taken or no plan presented to correct the violations.
The investigation is ongoing and no decision has been made whether additional charges will be filed.
Phillip Sarakatsannis's attorney said his client is not guilty of criminal abuse. He is not his mother's custodian. He periodically checked on her and did chores around her Scenic View Drive home.
Animal control officers removed 43 live and dead cats from the property and the surrounding neighborhood. They estimate there are about another 30 or so cats still inside the home.
Some dead cats were in bags in and around the house and some dead cats were scattered inside and outside the home. The animal control officer said "Never in my life had I seen anything like this."
Case UpdatesPhilip Sarakatsannis has pleaded guilty to the crime of not taking care of his late mother. The plea was part of a deal with prosecutors that will keep him from doing any jail time and may result in the eventual dismissal of the charges.
Sarakatsannis agreed to undergo a mental evaluation and receive psychiatric counseling.
If he fulfills the requirements of his five year probation, basically to undergo counseling, the charge against him will be dismissed. | Source: The Cincinnati Post - Mar 9, 2001
Update posted on Mar 18, 2006 - 10:42AM |
Phillip Sarakatsannis has been bound over to the grand jury Thursday by Campbell District Court Judge Greg Popovich after Judge Popovich describes the case as one of "unbelievable" depravity.
His mother died after lying three weeks with a broken hip in a filthy cat filled garage. He is accused of leaving his injured mother, Bonnie Sarakatsannis, 69, on the floor of her Fort Thomas garage from Aug 20 to Sept 10 before taking her to the hospital.
It is thought there might be a mental disease or defect involved in this case, "but the depravity of this situation is unbelievable. I've never heard anything like this before."
Fort Thomas Sgt Rich Whitford testified he spoke with Mrs Sarakatsannis at the Elizabeth Medical Center South on Sept 10, the day she was taken to the hospital. "She said she had fallen out side Phillip's condo (in Southgate), and she said she had him take her to the garage at the Fort Thomas house. "Don't ask me why I didn't go to the hospital, I don't know. I was in such pain." She had a large bedsore on her back where bone showed through.
A total of 111 cats, some dead, were removed from the house. "She said she told Phil she wanted to go to the house because she felt free there with her cats."
Mrs Sarakatsannis died at the hospital Sept 30. The results of the autopsy and related medical reports are not yet available.
Mr Sarakatsannis provided food and water for his mother in the garage. She was lying on a sheet on the garage floor part of the time and then a chaise lounge. Mr Sarakatsannis went to work each day and came back to the house and slept in the garage with his mother each night. | Source: The Cincinnati Enquirere - Oct 20, 2000
Update posted on Mar 17, 2006 - 6:27PM |
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