Inset: Janet Edwards (Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation Center). Background: The Florida home where Janet Edwards allegedly locked up her 77-year-old mother and neglected her (Google Maps).
A Florida woman who was accused of locking up her mother with dementia and Alzheimer”s while refusing to change her dirty Pampers also drained the 78-year-old’s “life savings,” according to police.
Janet Edwards, 49, of Hialeah, is now facing charges of elderly exploitation, grand theft from a person 65 or older, organized scheme to defraud and identity theft in addition to neglect of an elderly or disabled adult and battery on a person 65 or older, according to online court records.
An arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime says Edwards, who had power of attorney over her mom, sold the woman’s home and raked in more than $460,000 in doing so. She allegedly moved more than $250,000 of it to her own bank accounts and spent more than $24,000 of her mother’s money to purchase a pickup truck, WPLG reports.
On top of that, Edwards is also accused of forging her mom’s signature on more than $15,000 in life insurance payouts — allegedly posing as her mother on phone calls with the insurance company.
“The investigation has determined that the subject, Janet Edwards, used her position of trust as the victim’s daughter and caregiver to exploit her,” Edwards’ warrant says. “The subject took advantage of the victim’s advanced age, age-related infirmities, and severe cognitive impairments to unlawfully and permanently deprive the victim of her life savings by committing acts of fraud and identity theft for subject’s own personal gain and benefit.”
Edwards was arrested and charged last year after allegedly locking up her mom and neglecting her.
“The defendant [Edwards] said on five occasions she has seen the victim with feces in her hands and consuming it,” Janet Edwards’ original arrest affidavit alleges.
Edwards’ own children have accused her of slapping their grandmother around and purposely leaving her to fend for herself at the home they shared.
“She’s going to learn because she is always doing this,” Edwards allegedly told her adult son after he stopped by their residence to check on them in May 2025, according to the affidavit.
Police say Edwards’ son had opened his grandmother‘s bedroom door and “saw her in Pampers with feces in both of her hands.” The son allegedly asked Edwards to “clean her” and she told him “no” and that the victim needed to “learn” her lesson after repeated incidents like this, the affidavit states.
“The bedroom door was locked from the outside,” according to police. “[The son] observed the victim laying on an air mattress and there was no electricity.”
Police say the son was taken away from Edwards when he was 14 years old “due to child abuse allegations” that were investigated by the Department of Children and Families. His paternal grandparents were given custody of him, per the affidavit.
Edwards’ adult daughter also reported instances of neglect and abuse to local authorities, with her listed as a witness to incidents in August 2025 and September 2025, according to police.
The daughter provided text messages to cops that she received from Edwards, showing her grandmother holding feces. “[Edwards] wrote in the messages she smelled s— and was going back to bed.”
Edwards was later questioned about why she treated her mother this way. She said her mom had been “diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and … she does not recognize anyone anymore,” according to the affidavit.
“The defendant said she lives at the home with just the victim and she is the only caregiver,” police recount in the document.
Asked why she would not clean her mom up after she soiled herself, Edwards allegedly told cops it was “because she was upset or frustrated.” She gave this same excuse for why she told her son that the victim was “going to learn,” according to the affidavit.
“The defendant denied ever slapping or hitting the victim,” cops say.
Edwards was arrested for her most recent charges last week and is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County. She is being held on a $55,000 bond.
