Toronto woman found guilty of manslaughter of elderly mother in elder abuse case

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Eva Simonis leaves court after a judge found the 73-year-old guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life, criminal negligence causing death, and manslaughter in relation to her 96-year-old mother, Vasiliki Athanasakoski. I'm shocked.

[00:00:16]I'm shocked.

[00:00:17]On January 6th, 2024, Simonis called 911 after noticing her mother's arm was cold, knee was swollen, and that she was mumbling. When paramedics arrived at the Broadview Avenue home where she and her mother lived, they found Athanasakoski lying naked on the hardwood floor, urine and feces on the floor and on Athanasakoski. The house was so cluttered, dirty, and unkempt that EMS called the fire department to help take Athanasakoski to the ambulance. A paramedic noticed a large open wound on the patient's back. She was rushed to Michael Garron Hospital where she died the next day. At trial, Simonis testified her mother, who had dementia, had slipped off the couch 2 days earlier, and she couldn't get her off the floor. Court heard three people suggested Simonis call 911, but Simonis, who was her mother's primary caregiver, did not. Simonis, who was self-represented, testified in her own defense, explaining why she did not call for help sooner. She kept saying, "They're going to kill me. If I go to the hospital, they're going to kill me."

[00:01:16]And I kept saying, "No, they'll take care of you." "No, no, no, I'm going to die there. I'd rather die here." The cause of death was determined to be a pressure ulcer that developed on her back from prolonged immobility from January 4th to 6th, 2024. In finding Simonis guilty of all three charges, the judge wrote, "Ms. Simonis' failure to obtain medical care for her 96-year-old mother over a period of 3 days after she fell constitutes more than just a brief and minor oversight. Her conduct, or lack thereof, significantly contributed to Ms. Athanasakoski's death." And we heard that it smelled like feces and urine. What do you think this was the right place for an an an an old woman to be?

[00:01:55]>> feces and urine. It was all in a bag.

[00:01:58]That's what they smell. And you never saw the ulcer on her back?

[00:02:01]>> No, that's another thing. I never seen the ulcer. A date for a sentencing hearing will be set in August. Katherine McDonald, Global News.