WEST BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A Washington County woman was arrested Tuesday for allegedly holding her 92-year-old mother against her will and beating her over a six-month period, according to police.
Barbara Girdish, 64, of West Bethlehem Township, is charged with aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, simple assault and harassment.
Police said the Area Agency on Aging received an anonymous report that Girdish’s mother, Helen Girdish, was being abused.
State police and a representative of the agency went to the home and found Helen Girdish in a first-floor bedroom, a criminal complaint said. The 92-year-old was partially clothed and most of her body was covered with bruises, cuts and scrapes. Both of her legs were badly injured.
Helen Girdish was taken to Washington Hospital before being transferred to a Pittsburgh hospital with possible brain bleeding. She told police that she feared for her life, having been held against her will and beaten almost daily for the last six months by her daughter.
Neighbors told Channel 11 News that they were sickened to learn of the abuse.
Wayne Smith said he and his son used to check on Helen Girdish, but her daughter prevented them from seeing her after she moved in.
“Nobody deserves what she did to her mother,” Smith said.
Barbara Girdish was taken to the Washington County Jail on $25,000 bond.