The woman accused of hitting, kicking and strangling a disabled resident at a Gwinnett County personal care home said she was "under a blind rage" when she did so, a police detective testified Tuesday.
Lisa Gillian Williams, 44, was arrested last week after the son of the alleged victim -- a 69-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis and early stage dementia -- presented authorities with hidden camera footage from her room at Loganville's Personal Touch Personal Care Home. One video clip shows the woman police have identified as Williams grabbing the victim by the neck before dropping her on the floor. Another shows her choking the victim with her own T-shirt.
During a probable cause hearing in Gwinnett County Magistrate Court on Tuesday morning, Gwinnett police Detective D.C. Smith said Williams initially denied the abuse but confessed after being told there was video proof.
"Then she stated that she did commit the acts," Smith testified, "but it was under a blind rage and that she was at her wit's end and frustrated with the job."
All three felony charges filed against Williams -- aggravated assault and two counts of exploitation of a disabled adult -- were bound over to superior court following the hearing. Bond was not addressed and Williams remains in the Gwinnett County jail.
Smith testified that the alleged victim's son had previously installed a hidden camera in his mother's room, and that he turned it on on Easter after his mother began complaining about Williams. Williams was acting as a caretaker, police have said, but her official capacity remains unclear -- there are several women with the same name licensed through the Secretary of State’s Office, but none with an address that matches the Lithonia home listed on Williams’ jail information.
Williams' attorney, Tadia Whitner, argued unsuccessfully Tuesday that her client's alleged actions were not "willful," and that she was "trying to care for a woman who may be struggling against getting the care that she needs."
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