Lathrop sentenced to jail, probation, restitution

Published 9:00 am Wednesday, March 16, 2022

ENTERPRISE — Betsy Lathrop, charged with criminal mistreatment of an elderly person and identity theft, was sentenced Friday, March 11, in Wallowa County Circuit Court, to 36 months probation, ordered to pay $33,252.22 in restitution and to serve 70 days in jail with credit for 30 days already served.

The Lostine woman, 55, appeared before Senior Judge John L. Collins, of Yamhill County, in a virtual hearing. Collins also ordered a substance abuse evaluation of Lathrop, given allegations of past incidents involving such abuse, and recommended a mental health evaluation. Extra fines and court costs were waived. She will be allowed time off for good behavior, as her attorney requested.

Collins was the judge who presided during her trial on multiple charges of criminal mistreatment and identity theft involving her father, Robert “Wayne” Lathrop. She was convicted Feb. 9 on four of the 28 counts in the original indictment.

Her court-appointed public defender, La Grande attorney Jim Schaeffer, said after the sentencing that Lathrop will appeal both the convictions and the sentence.

The charges

Betsy Lathrop was accused of 20 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and eight counts of identity theft, all Class C felonies, alleged to have taken place between Nov. 21, 2014, and July 8, 2016, in violation of her legal duty to provide care for an elderly person — her father — according to court records. The elder Lathrop died in December 2018. Betsy Lathrop was not his legal guardian, but did she have power of attorney for him, her attorney said.

The charges on which Lathrop was convicted involved the purchase and installation of flooring and a washer and dryer in her Lostine home and the appropriation of money for expenses she said was for her father’s benefit.

During the sentencing, Betsy Lathrop asked Collins for some leniency, primarily because of her poor health, in reporting to jail. She is to serve the 40 days at the Umatilla County Jail, Pendleton, with which Wallowa County has a contract. Collins allowed her to wait until 5 p.m. March 21 to report to the jail. He also allowed her to have medical furloughs for doctor’s appointments while in jail. The delayed reporting to jail also allows Lathrop to arrange for someone to look over her Lostine home and animals while she is in jail.

For and against

Both the prosecution — headed March 11 by Christian Stringer — and the defense had witnesses to support their cases.

For the prosecution, Betsy’s brother, Nick Lathrop, recounted what he believed were wrongs she had done to their father.

“I will not ever forgive her for what she did to our dad for two years and how she treated him,” Mick Lathrop said.

Speaking on Betsy Lathrop’s behalf, Kathleen Wecks, who had submitted a letter to the court, explained how she had only known Lathrop since 2017 and had a limited knowledge of the situation.

“I came in pretty objectively without any preconceived opinions,” Wecks said. “What I heard from the prosecution witnesses as well as the defense was that Mr. Wayne Lathrop was in poor condition and he’d call Betsy and have her come. There were various testimonies of his improved hygiene, nutrition, demeanor and no complaints from community members about the care or that Mr. Wayne Lathrop had complained about the care.”

She said Betsy Lathrop seemed to be the one giving her father the best care. She said others expressed concern, “but they chose not to do anything — they didn’t spend any money, they didn’t repair, they didn’t offer food or transportation — all the things that Betsy did when she was living with her father. She received no compensation and when she was asked to leave, she left and they immediately paid for a live-in caregiver and then paid for him to be in a residential facility, so they acknowledged his needs for a paid attendant, yet she was not compensated at all. I watched her prepare Sunday meals and such for the family and care for them.”

Another of Betsy Lathrop’s siblings, Jeff Lathrop, joined his brother in denying the quality of care that Betsy gave their father. He said he had to “file for guardianship to get Betsy out of there.”

He said it appeared she was operating the house she shared with him “as a boarding house for Betsy and her friends.”

Jeff Lathrop said drug paraphernalia was found in rooms Betsy’s friends were using.

In her statement to the court, Betsy Lathrop said family relationships were far from the best.

“The closest thing my father and I had was our relationship, because attempts to have relationships with other parts of the family dwindled,” she told the judge.

In Collins’ statements on sentencing, he said violation of a family member’s trust is the most disturbing.

“This involved a breach of trust, and that’s pretty significant,” the judge said. “The jail sentence is meant to be the ‘just desserts,’ if you will, for the breach of trust in this case.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with corrected information.