Toronto senior's death followed a guardianship fight over two men living in her home, CBC reports
A provincial agency alleges Dorelia Licorish was financially abused before her death. Police have laid no charges.
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Last May, a Toronto judge presiding over a video court hearing asked 86-year-old Dorelia Licorish whether she was in Guyana. She was, with the two men beside her. When she asked if she was supposed to say yes, one of them answered yes.
Licorish died in hospital less than six months after her family called police to say they could not reach her. A provincial agency had sought legal guardianship, arguing she was mentally incapable and that two men were taking advantage of her financially.
Daniel Gopie and Elton John Rambarrat, a married couple, moved into Licorish's basement as tenants in early 2024 and later declared themselves her caregivers, according to her family. They are now living in her Toronto home. Police have laid no charges.
Licorish died from an infected bedsore so deep her pelvic bone was exposed. Her family believes she was neglected. Her niece, Andrea Phillips-Beckles, said the family wants justice because police "didn't take anything seriously at all."
A former nursing colleague told reporters's the fifth estate she noticed memory problems in Licorish years before her death. Licorish worked as a nurse at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on Queen Street West for decades before retiring.
A recent study by University of Toronto researchers found that elder abuse is common among Canadian seniors each year, and racialized and cognitively impaired older adults face higher risk. Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and University Health Network, said Licorish's case is playing out "in so many places" across the country.
The fifth estate documentary, "They called her 'Mommy,'" airs Friday at 9 p.m. on CBC-TV.
