An Eaton woman is accused of drowning her 93-year-old Eaton grandmother to avoid nursing home bills.
Heidi Matheny, 35, is facing one count of murder, according to Eaton Municipal Court records. She was arraigned Thursday afternoon and has a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Her bail has been set at $500,000.
Matheny Plunged Her Grandmother's Head in Sink While She was Doing the Dishes
Earlier this week, Matheny went to the Preble County Sheriff's Office and reported the drowning of her grandmother, later identified as Alice Matheny, according to court records.
Eaton police officers went to an apartment in the 300 block of East Somers Street, where they found Alice Matheny deceased, lying in a bathtub. An autopsy revealed Alice had a fractured sternum and rib as well as multiple bruises on her neck and arms, according to court documents.
During an interview with police, Heidi Matheny said her grandmother was doing dishes at the kitchen sink when she came up behind her and put her head in the sink, according to an Eaton police report. She told police she held her grandmother there until the bubbles stopped and then moved her to the couch.
"She thought that [Alice] may not be dead so she went into the bathroom and filled the bathtub," the report read. "She drug [Alice] into the bathroom and placed her into the tub." Matheny said she held her grandmother underwater for 15 minutes in the bathtub, according to the police report.
Doctor Told Heidi the Previous Day That Alice Needed to be in a Nursing Home
When police asked her what led to the incident, she said "it was a day like any other day," according to the report.
Heidi allegedly admitted she took her grandmother to a doctor's appointment the previous day, where a doctor told them the elderly woman needed to be in a nursing home, something they could not afford and insurance would not cover, according to the Eaton, Ohio, police report.
"It's nothing that she did," Heidi allegedly said during a police interview. "She's not – She's the perfect freaking grandma."
"According to the confession, she was just tired of taking care of a grandmother," Eaton Police Division Chief Steven Hurd said. "It's difficult not to take this to heart when you have a 35-year-old granddaughter who allegedly drowned her grandmother of 93 years of age in the bathtub."
