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Caregiver Arrested for Murder of Elderly Woman
09/30/09 - 03:34 PM

Bay County Sheriff Office

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The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (CID) arrested Geraldine H. Shockley this afternoon, September 30, 2009, and charged her with an open count of murder in the death of the woman she had been hired to care for – 94 year old Bessie Borth.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office was already investigating Geraldine Shockley after being contacted by a local financial institution due to irregularities in the banking accounts of Bessie Borth. The BCSO had in turn contacted the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Adult Protective Investigators who assisted with the case. Family members of Ms. Borth had been contacted concerning the investigation and investigators had questioned Ms. Borth’s care giver Geraldine Shockley, whom they suspected had been taking money from Ms. Borth’s accounts.

This morning at about 6:15 a.m. a 911 call was made by Geraldine Shockley to BCSO dispatch stating that she had just found Bessie Borth dead on the floor of her apartment at 112 Fairway Blvd on Panama City Beach after apparently falling. Deputies arrived, and numerous CID investigators along with the BCSO Crime Scene Unit were called to the scene and a full death investigation was initiated.

After a review of Shockley’s original account and an inspection of the scene, investigators found several discrepancies in Shockley’s original story. After further questioning, Shockley revised her account and stated she found Borth on the floor after falling, that Borth was still alive at that time so Shockley put a pillow on her face, smothering her. After evidence was presented which contradicted Shockley’s second account of the incident, Shockley stated she herself had pushed Borth down the stairs but Borth had survived the fall, so she smothered the 94 year old victim with a pillow.

Shockley, DOB 3/9/31, of 321 Seabreeze Drive, Panama City Beach, was charged with an open count of murder and exploitation of the elderly, and was taken to the Bay County Jail.