Caretaker charged in Fort Bragg case of ‘mummified’ woman

A bedridden Fort Bragg woman may have died in her apartment weeks or even months before her body was discovered Wednesday after neighbors complained about a smell.

When the woman’s caretaker returned to the apartment complex to submit papers for the paid job, officials said, she was arrested.

Monday, Lori Diane Fiorentino, 56, of Fort Bragg was charged with felony elder abuse causing death and false imprisonment in Mendocino County Superior Court’s Ten Mile courtroom in Fort Bragg, District Attorney officials said.

Fiorentino is scheduled to return to court Dec. 27.

Police Chief Fabian Lizarraga said their preliminary investigation revealed what appeared to be dire neglect of the woman, who has not been officially identified, to the point the body appeared emaciated and “mummified.”

“We observed what appeared to be severe neglect as far as no care to personal hygiene,” Lizarraga said. “We don’t know if she was being fed or given water.”

The woman may have died weeks or months prior to the Dec. 14 discovery of her body. Lizarraga said police are waiting for a forensic examination to provide a better estimate of when she died. The chief said the body was found on a couch in her living room and they are investigating whether Fiorentino was staying in the bedroom.

Neighbors identified the dead woman as Arlene Potts, a resident at The Duncan Place apartment complex on Cypress Street for more than a dozen years. A manager for the apartment, who declined to discuss the case, said the apartments house low-income seniors or people with disabilities. Potts was reported to be in her mid-60s.

Just a few doors down from apartment 216 where Potts lived and died, Rosalee Schenone said the news of her neighbor’s death was “very upsetting.”

“If we had known, any one of us would have helped her,” said Schenone, 74, of Fort Bragg.

She described Potts as kind and quiet and with hearing loss that made her unlikely to initiate conversation.

“You had to approach her,” Schenone said.

Schenone said she hadn’t seen Potts in many months and believed the woman suffered a fall and was unable to walk because of the injury. Until then, she was often seen walking to shop at the nearby Safeway or Rite Aid pharmacy, always alerting neighbors to a good sale.

Lizarraga said an injury had limited her mobility about a year ago but he didn’t have details.

“We believe she was completely bedridden,” said Lizarraga.

Officer Joe Breyer, a lead investigator on the case, said no evidence has been found that Fiorentino was caring for anyone else. Fiorentino was employed through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program, through the Health and Human Services Agency, Breyer said. Caretaker pay, such as time cards, are overseen by a county’s adult protectives services department. It’s a position that requires no certification or license.

Breyer said he’s investigating not only neglect but also potential financial abuse.

He declined to discuss the case further, including how Fiorentino came to Fort Bragg and became a caretaker. Public records showed Fiorentino had a residence in southern California, according to Breyer.

“All I can say is it was a long-term relationship, meaning several years,” Breyer said.

A former manager for Duncan Place, Pamela Rowden, said Potts had already lived there for several years in about 2003 when she took the management position. Rowden said she found out through friends on social media that Potts had died.

“She loved children,” Rowden said. “She would tell my daughter how pretty she was and tell my son he was a very talented and smart boy. It killed me to find out what happened to her.”

Rowden, who moved with her family to Texas in 2008, said she saw Potts at least weekly at the apartment complex. She also said Potts’ hearing loss was significant and made it difficult for her to communicate.

“And if I didn’t see her for a week, you need to check on her, that goes for anyone,” Rowden said.

Anyone with information about the case can call Fort Bragg Police Officer Joe Breyer at 707-961-2800 x189. Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the department’s crime tip hotline at 707-961-3049.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.