Latonya R. Cochran, 47, of Zion.

A caregiver has been charged with attacking a partially paralyzed elderly woman and spitting on her before the victim was found by police with numerous injuries in Zion.

Latonya R. Cochran, 47, of Zion, was charged with abuse or neglect of an elderly person by a caregiver, aggravated battery to a victim over 60 and two counts of domestic battery.

The Zion Police Department responded to a well-being check call on April 9 in the 3300 block of Birkdale Court in Zion.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen McConnell said the caller asked for officers to check on her cousin who she had not heard from in a while and was concerned for her.

Officers arrived and found the victim, a 65-year-old woman who is partially paralyzed and wheelchair-bound, to have visible injuries.

McConnell said the woman had swelling to her face, a bloody nose, a laceration to her hand and an eye injury. Prosecutors presented images of the victim’s injuries to a judge during a detention hearing.

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Paramedics arrived and transported the victim to a hospital for treatment.

The woman reported that Cochran was the suspect. Cochran, who is the victim’s cousin, moved in with the victim two years prior to be her caregiver, McConnell said.

Cochran had been drinking heavily and become “evil” over the prior months, the victim told police.

The victim had fallen out of bed earlier in the day and called for Cochran to help back into bed.

McConnell said Cochran grabbed the victim’s face, kicked her, hit her in the eye twice and spit on her. There was dry blood throughout the home and on the bed.

Cochran fled out of a window after she saw police arriving because she had three active criminal cases with warrants pending against her, McConnell said.

McConnell said the victim, who weighs no more than 100 pounds, told police that Cochran frequently does not feed her, beats her up and takes her phone so she cannot seek help.

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Cochran was charged on May 1 and an arrest warrant was issued for her. She was taken into custody earlier this month.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Cochran pending trial.

“Instead of helping her… instead of taking care of her as she was supposed to… she beat her up, leaving her with noticeably visible injuries and fled the scene because she had active warrants outstanding,” McConnell said.

Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition after saying that Cochran poses a danger to the victim.

He also said that Cochran has prior failures to appear in court and failures to comply with court orders, which leads him to believe she could not follow conditions of pre-trial release.

Cochran remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on January 30 for a preliminary hearing.

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