Daughter left 77-year-old father on basement floor for 2 days after beating, judge told

A Calgary woman admitted to beating her sick, 77-year-old father and leaving him on the basement floor for two days in soiled adult diapers, a judge heard Monday.

Details of the crime come from an agreed statement of facts presented at Tara Picard's guilty plea to charges of assault and failing to provide the necessaries of life.

A sentencing hearing will take place at a later date.

Picard was tasked with caring for her father, whom CBC News has chosen not to name, in November 2021.

Argument over alcohol 

The senior suffers from a number of medical issues, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and alcoholism.

At the time, a home-care registered nurse (RN) had been assigned to help provide supplementary care.

On Nov. 15, 2021, she showed up at the home with supplies from the food bank.

Picard told the nurse that her father was in the basement and that the two had argued over his drinking.

The nurse left but checked in by phone later in the afternoon. She asked to speak with the man but Picard said she was using the phone. She said her father was "eating, taking his pills and relaxing in his room."

On a second call 90 minutes later, the nurse got a hold of the father, who said he had fallen and was on the ground, unable to get up.

Bloodied victim found in basement 

Two RNs then drove to the home and found the man on his back on the basement floor.

They noticed he had two black eyes and dried blood on the back of his head.

The victim told the nurses he'd been there for two days and said his daughter had kicked him in the head. He was wearing a heavily soiled adult diaper at the time.

The RNs called 911.

At the hospital, doctors determined the man had a laceration to his head, bruising on his chest and several abrasions on his legs and chest.

Helping with her father's care was a "difficult task for Picard due to [his] alcoholism and lack of participation in his own care," reads part of the agreed statement of facts document.

Between Nov. 9 and 12, Picard knew her father had fallen and was intoxicated.

"She administered a number of physical blows directly upon him," according to the document.