Found Deceased OR - Merrilee Cooley, 68, Clackamas, 27 Dec 2016

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Sadly, this is all too common, despite the fact that most home care employees are wonderful. I think it certainly could be someone like this or family or "friend."
We might be able to see more once we know the cause of death. But at this time, I don't see the perp being a family member or a friend. (I hope not.)

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My guess is that someone wanted money that she did not want to give... OR was caught stealing her meds. An argument gets out of hand, person panics....puts her body in the trunk and parks the car at the complex. This will be a family member, or person she knows, I'm afraid.

Poor woman. How sad.

BBM: Sadly, I agree. RIP Merrilee. Hopefully justice will be swift.
 
The reason I brought up a health care worker or someone who came into the house is because about a month ago my stepmother caught her healthcare person (who comes in 2x a week) on her computer. My stepmother was annoyed and had her son come over to view the computer's history.

The computer history revealed the healthcare person had been researching pearls and how much money they would be worth on a trade in. Needless to say, when my stepmother went to look, her pearls were missing.



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OMGosh Razz! The chutzpah! To steal her pearls and then look up their value on her computer!! Or the stupidity! I hope she reported her to her agency and LE.
 
"In almost 90% of elder abuse and neglect incidents [including financial exploitation], the perpetrator is a family member. Two thirds of perpetrators are adult children or spouses."

https://www.ncoa.org/public-policy-action/elder-justice/elder-abuse-facts/
That is sad. But this woman was murdered (we think) and put into the trunk of her car and left in a parking lot to rot.

Or, now that I think about it, maybe the keys were left in the car so someone would check the trunk before she started to decompose.
Maybe that was more than "someone" could bear the thought of.

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OMGosh Razz! The chutzpah! To steal her pearls and then look up their value on her computer!! Or the stupidity! I hope she reported her to her agency and LE.
Yes she did but she felt bad about it as the woman was pregnant with her third child.

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This reminds me of like the 2000 murder of Geraldine Davidson in Texas. Like Cooley, Davidson was an elderly woman living alone, who disappeared along with her car and was found dead. No one could've imagined what'd happened if her killers hadn't driven her car around (with her in the trunk), bragging and looking for help. Her killers-one was a neighbor who'd broken into her home 3 times before-were convicted and prosecuted. I hope Cooley's last few hours weren't as brutal as Davidson's and LE has her killer(s) in their sights.
http://www.palestineherald.com/news...cle_913b636d-1a63-54ac-b20a-01eb28ebc779.html
 
I don't think the original criminal intent with Merilee was to kill her.

My point with my previous post was to counteract the stereotyping of home-care aides.
 
68 is not that old, especially if one is healthy and continues to be curious, keep active (I teach Jazzercise to all age groups), eat right, and have a wicked and voracious sense of humor. Age is a state of mind. I know. :laughing:
 
I don't think the original criminal intent with Merilee was to kill her.

My point with my previous post was to counteract the stereotyping of home-care aides.

I really didn't see stereotyping of home care aides, La Louve. It was just one valid theory out of several, based on one experience. Although I could share other bad experiences, as I said, most are wonderful. But the bad ones do exist, just like greedy family members do, even though most family members wouldn't harm a relative. But I do appreciate your statistics. :) And I agree that this wasn't premeditated.
 
Now that it's been confirmed to be homicide, I'm thinking of those living at apartment complex who said they noticed Merrilee's car had been there for a few days. I'm guessing they may be wondering if Merrilee was still alive when they first spotted her car. I wonder if those who had seen the car had even heard of a missing woman/car. Very sad.
 
Now that it's been confirmed to be homicide, I'm thinking of those living at apartment complex who said they noticed Merrilee's car had been there for a few days. I'm guessing they may be wondering if Merrilee was still alive when they first spotted her car. I wonder if those who had seen the car had even heard of a missing woman/car. Very sad.
Why can't they say how she died for heaven's sake?! Of course it was a homocide. One doesn't end up in their own trunk only to be discovered a week later at an apartment complex?!

Was she strangled? Was she smothered, was she hit over the head. Did she have bruises? Had she been tied up.

Ok. I know they don't have to tell us anything but..... geez.

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Merrilee Cooley could have been my mom. She lives alone, uses a walker, etc.

This lady deserves justice, to the fullest extent of the law. I don't think it'll be long before they find out who was there, who took her away, and who put her in that trunk. And may they rot. As they deserve.
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2017/01/milwaukie_police_find_missing.html

Not sure if this article has been posted. Interesting she had just received a life alert necklace. Not sure whats involved in setting up service, but wonder if it was operational and to what extent it worked, meaning outside the home or just within?

It was supposed to detect if she had a fall. Wonder if it was found? I know very little about them...but don't they automatically send help if activated by certain motion or by push of button?
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2017/01/milwaukie_police_find_missing.html

Not sure if this article has been posted. Interesting she had just received a life alert necklace. Not sure whats involved in setting up service, but wonder if it was operational and to what extent it worked, meaning outside the home or just within?

It was supposed to detect if she had a fall. Wonder if it was found? I know very little about them...but don't they automatically send help if activated by certain motion or by push of button?

From what I can tell, "Life Alert" is designed for in home emergencies. However, they also have a mobile version. I imagine Marilee's was just to use at home for falls. I don't think the mobile version is for home use. You do have to push a button.

http://www.lifealert.com/about.aspx

http://www.lifealert.com/HELPPhone_50.aspx
 
I purchased LifeAlert (although they have MedicalAlert) for my parents.

There are 3 different kinds on the market now.

Alert covering the area around your property/home where you press a button alert on a necklace.

Alert same as above, but if you should fall (let's say you become unconscious), the alert automatically activates.

Mobile alert, it activates where ever you are, in your car, the grocery store, etc. I believe in this case it works off your cellphone whereas the other two alerts above work off a home phone.
 
My mom has something like this at the retirement home. They are required to wear.
I wonder if she was wearing when found?

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hopefully LE has dusted the keys and the trunk lid for prints.
 

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