People in this story

Beatrice S. Demers

A 99-year-old retired Univerity of Rhode Island professor and multimillionaire who for many years lived in squalor in her house in South Kingstown. She is now demented.

Roberta Hawkins

The state ombudsman for the elderly who heads the Alliance for Better Long Term Care in Rhode Island. Hawkins, along with one of Demers' caregivers, asked state prosecutors to investigate the Demers case.

Stephen White

A Warwick lawyer who is the probate judge for the Town of South Kingstown.

Rosaline Demers

Beatrice Demers' late mother, who had worked as a housekeeper and invested in the stock market

John A. Parmelee

Beatrice Demers' longtime accountant and friend who formerly served as co-trustee of her trust and who borrowed thousands of dollars from her.

Russell Brown

South Kingstown's building inspector, who contemplated condemning Demers' home because he felt the conditions there endangered her health and safety.

Mark Spangler

A lawyer in Wakefield who represented Beatrice Demers.

Alice Jane Barker

A neighbor and former caregiver of Beatrice S. Demers whom the old woman met while volunteering at the South Kingstown Animal Rescue League. According to the police and representations made in Probate Court, Barker took at least $128,778.45 of Demers' money and failed to repay tens of thousands of dollars of it. Demers would not press charges against her, despite prodding from the police. Barker now lives in Florida.

Frederick C. Kilguss Jr.

A former student of Beatrice S. Demers whom she asked to be co-trustee of her trust and who also has power of attorney for her. Kilguss, a Warwick lawyer, now lives for about half the year in Palm Springs, Calif.

Anthony R. Mignanelli

A Providence lawyer who was selected by Kilguss to be co-trustee of Beatrice Demers' trust after John Parmelee, her accountant, resigned as co-trustee.

Lewis M. Barker

Alice Jane Barker's son, who turned his mother in for taking Beatrice Demers' money.

Roger Barker

The former husband of Alice Jane Barker who found bank statements and canceled checks belonging to Beatrice Demers in his wife's car.

Geoffrey Peckham

A South Kingstown detective lieutenant who investigated Beatrice Demers' missing money and who tried, unsuccessfully, to get Kilguss and Demers to press charges against Alice Jane Barker. Peckham retired earlier this month.

Barbara Winchenbach

A caseworker in the state Department of Elderly Affairs' Abuse Unit who got involved in the Demers case after Alice Jane Barker's son told the police he believed his mother was stealing money from Beatrice Demers.

Paula Goldman

A registered nurse from Charlestown who was asked by the DEA to be a caregiver for Demers. Goldman was appointed by the Probate Court as temporary guardian for health care matters for Demers but later resigned after coming under fire for giving her husband confidential information about the old woman that he used as the basis for a play.

Matthew Goldman

Husband of Paula Goldman and author of the play The Cat Lady. He says the play that he wrote is "a work of fiction," but others say it is based on the recent life of Beatrice S. Demers.

R.J. Connelly III

A Lincoln lawyer who, at the request of the DEA, was appointed by the Probate Court as temporary guardian for financial matters for Beatrice Demers. He tried unsuccessfuly to get the Probate Court to place Demers under permanent guardianship.

Margaret L. Hogan

A Wakefield lawyer who was appointed guardian ad litem to represent the interests of Beatrice Demers after Demers was put under temporary guardianship.

Chava Cohen

A retired registered nurse from Palm Springs, Calif., who was brought in by Paula Goldman to be a live-in caretaker for Beatrice Demers. She was dismissed after a few months but became a whistleblower in the case.

Roger Demers

A special assistant attorney general in the office of Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch who is now conducting a criminal investigation into the case of Beatrice S. Demers.

Richard C. Bicki

A Providence lawyer best known for his criminal defense work who was brought in by Kilguss and Mignanelli to battle Connelly in the Probate Court over guardianship issues relating to Beatrice Demers. Bicki moved to seal most of the court file and objected to unsealing it when the attorney general's office moved to open it to public scrutiny.

Edward L. Gerstein

A Little Compton lawyer who, with Bicki, was brought in by Demers' co-trustees to represent Beatrice Demers' interests in court. With Bicki, he moved to seal the Probate Court file.