Nurse's Aide Left 95-Year-Old in Car in Casino Parking Lot: Cops

A South Florida nurse's aide is facing elderly neglect charges after authorities say she left a 95-year-old woman in a car outside a Coconut Creek casino.

Maria L. Holly, 53, was arrested Sunday on a charge of neglect of an elderly disabled adult after a person spotted 95-year-old Belle Sapstein in a car in the parking lot of the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek.

Holly fainted during her initial appearance in court Monday, where Broward County Circuit Judge Louis Schiff said Sapstein was left in the car for several hours.

"At almost 10 o'clock at night, a woman who's supposed to be a nurse's aide, leaves a 95-year-old woman allegedly alone in a car for several hours," Schiff said. "My guess is that she's inside gambling."

Sapstein was taken to a nearby hospital for observation.

"But for the good Samaritan who saw her and but for the fact that it was at night where the sun couldn't be coming in the car, we could have had a totally different scenario," Schiff said.

Records showed Holly had an active warrant out of Palm Beach County on grand theft and exploitation of an elderly person.

Holly was ordered held on $5,000 bond on the neglect charge and $3,000 each on the grand theft and exploitation charges. It was unknown whether she had an attorney.