Apr 17, 2018 3 min read

A West Bethlehem Township resident charged with felony neglect of her care-dependent mother will be spending three to nine years in a state prison.

Barbara Ann Girdish, 66, who lived on Grable Road, entered what is known as an “open” guilty plea to three charges in January with the sentence to be determined by Washington County Judge Valarie Costanzo.

The additional charges were unlawful restraint of her mother, then 92, over a six-month period before authorities intervened in spring 2016. Barbara Girdish was also charged with simple assault.

To aid in the judge’s decision on a penalty, the adult probation office compiled a 14-page report that included the victim’s statement. Helen Girdish said her daughter carried a baseball bat and terrified her, and that she felt like a prisoner in her own home, where Barbara Girdish would not answer the door or phone calls, according to Assistant District Attorney John Friedmann.

Assistant Public Defender Michael Mihalov asked for leniency, noting his client had no prior record.

“Miss Girdish stands in front of the court having cooperated. She stands before the court asking for mercy,” Mihalov said.

Barbara Girdish told the judge she became her mother’s caregiver to fulfill a promise to her father.

She admitted to slapping her mother lightly on the cheek for swearing and that her fingers became tangled in her mother’s hair as Helen Girdish’s pulled away.

“I’m not an abusive person,” the defendant said, but outlined several circumstances, including phone calls from a jailed relative and an inability to find a suitable caregiver that caused her to become overwhelmed.

Barbara Girdish also ceased taking medication for depression and said she “became irritable and a little bit paranoid.”

The defendant was later diagnosed as suffering from a bi-polar disorder.

Her mother, she claimed, experienced hallucinations.

Helen Girdish’s circumstances came to light when the Area Agency on Aging received an anonymous report an elderly woman was being abused at her home and state police intervened.

Helen Girdish was found in a first-floor bedroom, partially clothed. Police said she had bruises, cuts and scrapes covering most of her body. Helen Girdish told police her daughter was holding her against her will and had assaulted her.

She was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment of what police called major injuries to both legs. While at the hospital, Helen Girdish told investigators her daughter had physically abused her for six months. She said she was beaten almost daily and feared for her life.

A preliminary report by hospital staff indicated the elderly woman suffered a possible brain injury and she was transferred to a Pittsburgh hospital.

Friedmann noted the mother’s injuries were not due to a single incident and said Barbara Girdish could have tried harder to obtain care for her mother through either agencies for the aged or through insurance or health care providers.

In passing sentence, the judge noted Barbara Girdish “repeatedly attempted to minimize” her abuse of her 92-year-old mother and informed her of her appeal rights.

In a news release, District Attorney Gene Vittone encouraged someone who suspects mental, physical or financial abuse to report it by calling the confidential protective services hotline at 1-800-537-2424.

“The report made in this case stopped the horrible abuse that this person was suffering,” Vittone said.