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Caretaker couple charged with murder of elderly man

GBI report accuses caretakers of neglecting the man in their care.

NEWNAN, Ga. -- They were supposed to care for their elderly neighbor, but police say they neglected him and it was that neglect that led to his death.

The Coweta County Sheriff's Office this week filed murder charges against 29-year-old Jonathan Lee Barber and 26-year-old Tiffany Dawn Fountain.

According to investigators, in 2016, the couple had reached an agreement for care with their neighbor, 76-year-old Rollis Noble Bowman. The elderly man wasn't suffering from any medical conditions, but needed help day-to-day around his home.

Rollis Noble Bowman

Under the agreement, Barber and Fountain lived in a home next to Bowman, which he owned, and charged them no rent. He also paid for their utilities and groceries and gave them access to his ATM card to pay expenses.

In exchange, the couple was supposed to look after him, give him help with day-to-day activities and, when needed, take him to doctor or pharmacy visits.

But, in March 2017, according to police, Bowman came down with pneumonia, but the couple allegedly never took him to the doctor or filled any prescriptions. He died two months later.

In a May 4 call to 911, a caller identified as Jonathan Barber said that his grandfather had died. Investigators said that it was Bowman who he was referring to.

A GBI autopsy showed the causes of Bowman's death to be "acute pneumonia, dehydration and cachexia"-- a metabolic condition that often involves weight loss and leads to infections. The GBI report went on to list the manner of death as homicide.

As the sheriff's office began investigating, they found thousands of dollars missing from Bowman's bank account.

"They were using his debit card to make unauthorized ATM withdrawals to the tune of over $7,000 and we at this time can't account for where all that money was spent," said Coweta County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Chad McDonald.

On Tuesday, Barber and Fountain were arrested and charged with murder and two counts of elder abuse. They are being held in the Coweta County Jail.

Investigators said they are also still probing $7,000 in unaccounted withdrawals from the dead man's bank account.

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