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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A mother and her adult son have been arrested after police say they threatened an elderly family member, forcibly took her prescription pain medication and manipulated her into doctor shopping so they could get more pills.
Linda Klemm, 50, and David Wilson, 29, were arrested Friday on a warrant out of 3rd District Court charging them with exploitation of a vulnerable adult. Klemm was also charged with theft by extortion and obstructing justice, all third-degree felonies.
Wilson was additionally charged with retaliation against a witness or victim.
The charges and arrests come less than two weeks after Barbara Joyce Kemp, 73, filed for a restraining order against her daughter, Klemm, and grandson, Wilson, claiming cohabitant abuse, obstructing justice, and three counts of falsely obtaining a prescription.
Police began investigating Klemm and Wilson in February. On April 2, an officer conducted a telephone interview with Kemp only to learn the next day that Wilson had watched Kemp during the interview and threatened to "smash her face in" if she continued talking, according to court records.
During a face-to-face interview on April 3, Kemp told detectives that she "had to resort to hiding her prescription pain medications" in her bra so her daughter and grandson would not take them, according to court documents. She further stated that she was afraid of her grandson because he would "spit in her face," throw coffee on her and threaten her if she did not hand over her medication.
Kemp told investigators that Klemm also stole her pills to replace the ones that Klemm would take from her husband, according to the arrest warrant.
The group also forced Kemp, who suffers from dementia, to sign a promissory note, telling her that if she didn't that Klemm's husband would "hurt and/or kill her," court records state. The note gave the husband $25,000 from the sale of the furniture in Kemp's condominium. Police say the note was never cashed.
As of Friday, Cottonwood Heights Police Sgt. Mark Askerlund said there was not enough evidence to arrest Klemm's husband.
Askerlund said the investigation started when a local pharmacist noticed that Kemp was coming in for pill refills more than she should have been.
