NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Four intellectually impaired adults were found living with their mother who had been dead for more than a year according to police.
Davidson County Sheriff’s Office deputies were serving an eviction notice and found Laronda Jolly dead on a bedwith clothes on top of her at the RiverChase Apartments on Joseph Avenue.
Neighbor Keo Robinson lives in the same building. Robinson said, "The kids had a part in it, but you really can’t blame them because they have a mental disability, so her final wishes could have been ya know, ‘don’t let anybody in my house, or don’t open the door for anybody,’ and they were probably just being obedient kids and not doing it, but it’s just tragic, it’s messed up all the way around.”
He said Jolly's four adult children with intellectual impairments would leave to go to the store and nothing seemed wrong. Robinson said, “That’s the surprising thing, I didn’t smell anything, we used to have bugs and flies around here. No matter how much we cleaned up, it used to always be flies, and I was wondering dang what’s going on around here, but after seeing that, stuff started connecting.”
He's not sure how the family passed routine apartment inspections at the apartment complex. "Cause they came to our house and checked everything, so I’m not really sure what’s going on with that, I guess it just fell through the cracks," Robinson said. We left a voicemail at RiverChase Apartments and have not heard back for comment.
According to Dara Bacon, an advocate for people with disabilities, they try to prevent things like this from happening. "I think it’s calling attention to the systemic problem of lack of support for caregivers of individuals with disabilities."
The ARC ofDavidson County and Greater Nashville chapter has resources to help including grant money for caregivers of up to $1,000 for families during the pandemic. The organization is also working to open a center where guardians can arrange plans for their dependentswith disabilities when they're gone. However, they rely on the community to alert them when people need assistance. "Reality is we need other people to come forward," Bacon said.
Robinson hopes cases like this never fall through the cracks again. "It’s just wild, very tragic." An autopsy showed there were no signs of trauma, and no evidence of foul play. However, police said Laronda Jolly had a history of seizures.
A local nonprofit assisted the four adults with a temporary hotel, but now they’re being assisted by adult protection services according to a representative.
