YORK, Pa., Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A York, Pa., woman was charged with the 2008 death of her 90-year-old grandmother, police say.
Ada Adams was found dead in her apartment in York Township on May 25, 2008, the York (Pa.) Daily Record reported Thursday.
York Area Regional Police found lethal doses of morphine in the elderly woman's system and launched an investigation as Adams was not prescribed morphine, nor did she have access to the drug.
Police discovered that Adams had told several family members someone had stolen $12,000 from her bank account and that she planned to talk to her bank on May 27, 2008.
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Further investigation showed that Adams's granddaughter, Shelby, had recently stolen her grandmother's checkbook and forged multiple checks from her grandmother's account.
Police also discovered Shelby Adams, 40, worked for Shadowfax, a facility for the mentally ill, and York Hospital, where she would have had access to morphine.
Police allege Shelby Adams bought her grandmother a Wendy's chili and soda, her favorite meal, and mixed in a lethal dose of morphine.
Shelby Adams allegedly gave the fast food to her grandmother on May 25, 2008 and returned the following day to find her very ill. The granddaughter then removed the fast food containers and a recent bank statement from her grandmother's apartment, police say.
When questioned by the police, Shelby Adams admitted that she had stolen her grandmother's checkbook and forged checks from April to May 2008, but denied poisoning the fast food.
Shelby Adams was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, four counts of forgery, theft by deception and receiving stolen property. She is being held without bail in York County Prison.
