Salem man arrested, charged with battery of disabled ex-wife

By: 
Staff Writer Kate Wehlann

Gary Waldman, 52, Salem, was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 20, after an incident where he is accused of striking an disabled woman.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, Washington County Deputy Joseph Keltner was brought in to investigate the situation with Adult Protective Services. Waldman’s reported victim was his ex-wife, who still lived with him. Waldman later told investigators, after his ex-wife was diagnosed with Huntington’s Disease, they agreed to divorce, but that Waldman would continue to care for her in the home.

Adult Protective Services officials showed Keltner photos of the bruises and injuries to the victim’s face. One official said the woman was very scared and said she wanted to leave Waldman’s care. She said the victim couldn’t say much more than “yes,” “no,” “Gary,” and “Patti,” the name of Waldman’s girlfriend, who lived with them as well, but sometimes said more.

Keltner went to Waldman’s home on South Brown Lane, where an ambulance was removing the victim and taking her to the hospital to be medically cleared. While he was there, he said Waldman’s girlfriend, Patti Grether, was there, packing all her belongings. She said she was going to leave as well, saying she wanted to leave before, but was afraid to. She said Waldman was in Kentucky at the time with his mother, who had broken her hip.

Keltner went to the hospital to speak with the victim, who became very upset when asked where she got her bruises. She denied falling and said, “Gary,” and denied that Grether had ever put any bruises on her. She said Waldman struck her, both with a closed fist and an open hand, and only at home. She said they weren’t mean to her at home, but that Waldman had done it on purpose when he was mad.

Another woman Keltner spoke with in the investigation, Tiaena Davis, said she never saw Waldman mistreat the victim. She said she had seen Waldman upset once and yell at his mother, which had scared the victim, but that he’d never yelled at the victim. Davis said she had seen Waldman hug the victim, brush her back and tell her when he was leaving and that he loves her. Davis said Waldman was verbally abusive to his mother, but never to the victim.

Waldman told Keltner that he has never struck or neglected the victim in any way. He explained his ex-wife’s condition, which has diminished her cognitive skills and makes her confused about what was going on. He said the victim fell and hit her head when he wasn’t there. He said when he came home, Grether told him the victim had fallen and he redressed the wounds to see how badly she was hurt.

On Jan. 30, Keltner went back to the home on South Brown Lane and served Waldman a protective order that had been granted. He said he saw Grether’s car in the driveway and saw her inside the home through a window. The next day, he received an email from Waldman with two signed statements from Grether.

In the statements, Grether said the victim had fallen early in the morning on Sunday, Jan. 26, hitting her head on the bed rails, causing a gash on the left side of her head. She said Waldman wasn’t home at the time, and she cleaned and bandaged the injury. About 12 hours later, she said Waldman returned home and took the victim to the bathroom and said the victim was having trouble sitting on the toilet. He redressed the bandaid on her head.

That night, Grether said she and Waldman put the victim to bed and Waldman told her not to get out of bed so she wouldn’t fall. However, Grether claimed the victim did get out of bed the next morning and fell, possibly causing more bruising.

She said in another statement she had never seen Waldman abuse the victim and that, due to the diminished cognitive abilities, sometimes her “yes” means “no” and her “no” means “yes.”

Keltner said he also received Facebook Messenger conversations from Waldman to two others discussing the victim having fallen.

Waldman was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 20, and released a few hours later. He has been charged with battery against a disabled person and neglect of a dependent.

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