A 68-year-old Hectorville woman was arrested and charged with manslaughter as part of the investigation into the death of Annie Smith.
She will appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court later today or tomorrow.
Annie died in the Royal Adelaide Hospital on 6 April 2020 after being admitted with severe ulcerated and infected tissue, and other serious illnesses that had developed while being cared for in her own home.
It is alleged Ann died of serious criminal neglect and her death was preventable.
Major Crime Investigation Branch, Detective Superintendent Des Bray said this has been a comprehensive instigation looking at all aspects of Annie’s care.
“We have built a picture of Annie’s life since the death of her parents in 2009. She led an active and outgoing life from 2009-2018 but in the past two years she became more socially isolated and her quality of life deteriorated,” he said.
“Cooperation from the public providing information to this investigation has been outstanding, with 74 calls to Crime Stoppers.”
Anyone with information about the care provided or not provided to Annie since 2015 contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 – this includes people within care companies.
The coronial investigation will continue into the cause, and circumstances that led to Annie’s death and what could or should have been done to prevent it.
“Important that everyone assists the investigation to ensure we can build a comprehensive report for the Coroner so we can ensure this never happens again,” he said.
