Friday afternoon, January 15, 2016, marked the end of a week long trial in Boone County Circuit Court for William "Bill" Meadows.  Meadows, 69 years old, of Danville was convicted of the Abuse of an Incapacitated Adult and faces 2-10 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.

       The investigation began in August of 2014 when Captain David Sutphin of the Boone County Sheriff's Office received a complaint detailing the abuse of Meadows' 88 year old mother, Sylvia Meadows of West Madison.  The allegations against William and other members of his family were very disturbing.

        Over a 14 month period from June 2013 until August 2014 Sylvia suffered mental, physical and financial abuse at the hands of her family.  Medical records and eye witness accounts paint a picture of a bloodied and beaten victim.  In addition to the physical abuse, the family also illegally spent tens of thousands of dollars in cash and racked up thousands of dollars of credit card bills in the victim's name. 

        A total of six family members have been charged at this point in the investigation, and including Bill, four of them have been convicted of crimes against the elderly victim.  Persons convicted of criminal activity in this case include Sylvia's son and some of her grandchildren.

        This is a case that continues to shock investigators.  It is hard to comprehend how anyone could physically abuse an elderly person, let alone a defenseless family member.  However, we are glad to be able to make progress as we move forward in holding these monsters accountable for their actions.