OLD FORGE, Pa. (AP) - A woman who tried to kill her ailing elderly aunt by driving around for hours while the older woman’s life-sustaining oxygen tank was being depleted has been sentenced to nearly two years in county prison.
Carrie Trowbridge, 57, of Old Forge, was sentenced Wednesday after she told the judge she had wanted to take her own life during the November 2018 incident and never wanted to harm her aunt, who at the time was 76.
The older woman, who has severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is oxygen-dependent, had testified at a preliminary hearing that during the trip, Trowbridge told her, “You’re going to die tonight, old woman, and I’m going to watch.”
The woman said Trowbridge had offered to drive her to a bank so she could pickup copies of some account statements. However, Trowbridge eventually drove around for about 10 hours that day, despite her aunt’s concerns that her oxygen tank was getting very low.
Trowbridge initially was charged with attempted homicide and numerous other offenses, including theft-related counts for allegedly writing $15,000 in checks on her aunt’s bank account. She eventually pleaded guilty in January to aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and theft by unlawful taking.
Speaking during the sentencing hearing, the aunt told the judge the incident remains “on her mind 24/7” and she still can’t process what happened or why it occurred.
“This is the ultimate betrayal,” she said.
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