Three Charged with Adult Abuse in Mayfield

Three people in the same family have been arrested for adult abuse in Graves County.

According to the Graves County Sheriff's Department, they received a call Wednesday from Fern Terrace Lodge in Mayfield. They said it was possible that someone was taking advantage of one of their former patients to gain access to his money and medications.

An investigation by deputies determined that Haley Skufca had worked at Fern Terrace and told her parents, Gary and Sheryl Skufca, about a patient at the facility. He was responsible for himself and a recipient of Social Security benefits. Deputies say the Skufcas coerced the man into signing out of the facility so he could stay with his terminally ill father in Illinois. 

Deputies say the victim was taken to get a state identification card, with an address given for a home on Oak Grove Church Road, where Sheryl Skufcas' sister lives. From that time, his Social Security benefits were being mailed to the new address. 

Police say they did not find him there, because he was staying with the three suspects at a local motel. Fern Terrace staff told deputies the victim had $1,200 cash when he left their facility, but deputies say the Skufcas and the victim had a total of $12 on them when the were found. The victim said they seized control of his money after they left the assisted living center.

Adult Protective Services came to take the man back to Fern Terrace Lodge, and the Skufcas were arrested. Deputies say the Skufcas are homeless and had been living in motels for some time.

They all faces charges of wanton abuse or neglect of an adult and theft of a controlled substance. Gary Skufca faces an additional charge of failure to notify the state DOT of an address change. Sheryl Skufca faces an additional charge of not having a prescription in the proper container. Haley Skufca faces additional charges of possession of a controlled substance, and not having a prescription in the proper container. All three were taken to Graves County Jail.