MADISON, Miss.–Picture taken of Rose Cochran, 72, were taken without her consent as she lay bed-ridden at St. Catherine’s Village, a retirement home in Madison. Now investigators are looking at different angles, trying to find out if more people may be involved.
Subpoenas were issued for e-mails and phone records, a Madison investigator told WAPT Monday. There were no specifics on just who is being investigated.
Sen. Thad Cochran’s opponent in the Senate Republican primary, state Sen. Chris McDaniel, has denied involvement with Clayton Kelly, 28, the man who was arrested and charged with exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and who sits in the Madison County jail awaiting a Thursday court appearance, where attorneys hope he is granted a lower bond.
His bond now is at $100,000.
Meanwhile, Kelly’s wife and attorney claim he did not sneak into the nursing home, but was given a pass. Kelly’s wife Tara gave a pass from St. Catherine’s to a Clarion-Ledger reporter in court Sunday. It was not dated and was a visitor parking pass.
Sen. Cochran’s children, Clayton and Kate, said they were shocked when they found out about what happened. The family issued a statement, which did not include comments from the senator.
“It is amazing and humbling to see how devoted our dad has been as mother has progressed from early dementia, to complete loss of language to her current state of hospice care,” they said. “He is a model of understanding for those who are losing their loved ones in this way. We are shocked by someone trying to use our mother’s illness for political purposes.”
McDaniel’s campaign had him scheduled for meetings with voters all across Mississippi for the rest of the week, including a radio interview set for Tuesday on the Paul Gall Show on SuperTalk Miss.
