September 22, 2021
Matthew Leroy Ehens, 38-year-old of Arroyo Grande has sentenced to 8-years-to-life in state prison on Monday after being found guilty of felony charges of torture and elder abuse on August 25.
Boiling peanut oil was poured by Ehens on his 79-year-old adoptive mother and stabbed her in the back with a huge kitchen knife after an argument on August 2, 2019.
He took off his vehicle, which resulted in a high-speed chase with officers that ended when Ehens crashed his car and was arrested.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, the victim sustained critical burns on over 17 percent of her body and required considerable medical treatment. She had to stay in the hospital for a month and undergo a skin grafting procedure.
With the help of the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, the Arroyo Grande Police Department and the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office investigated the crime.
What is elder abuse in California?
Elders in California are those who are 65 years and older. Elder abuse is a civil and criminal offence in California.
Elder abuse includes:
- Abandonment, which occurs when a caretaker abandons a senior person.
- Abduction refers to when a conservatee is moved from one state to another without the conservator’s consent.
- Taking or using an elder’s money, property, or other assets without consent is considered financial abuse.
- Isolation is the deliberate denial of mail, phone calls, or visitors for an elderly person.
- Mental suffering is the use of threats, harassment, or other forms of intimidating behaviour to cause fear, anger, or confusion.
- Neglect is a caregiver’s failure to help elders with personal cleanliness, food, clothes, or shelter, or to safeguard a senior from health and safety risks.
- Physical abuse includes intentionally resulting in physical pain or injury, sexual assault or harassment, and the use of physical or chemical restraint as a form of punishment.
- Undue Influence, When a person imposes excessive influence on an elder, it undermines the elder’s free will and leads him or her to act or withhold from behaving appropriately.
- California has a criminal justice system. Elder abuse occurs when a person knows the victim is an elder and causes them unjustified physical or mental suffering. Or knowingly causes or lets that elder suffer, as defined by Penal Code 368. It also applies to circumstances in which a person knowingly causes or permits the elder to be placed in an endangered situation.
Khashan Law is one of the most well-known elder abuse law firms in Southern California. The law firm sets the standard for protecting our elderly and dependent people from neglect and abuse, led by talented and aggressive trial lawyers with over 25 years of combined expertise.
If you or your family member have been a victim of elder abuse, contact us today at (951) 461-2387 for a free, confidential consultation.