Good Morning Britain presenters Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway were visibly shaken after watching footage of an elderly dementia patient being subjected to verbal abuse from a carer. Richard exclaimed "good God" after viewing a clip of carer Louise Harris screaming "I hope you die in your sleep" at Elizabeth Anne Shipton, 81, who lives with dementia and had been recovering following a bleed on the brain.
Footage captured by family security cameras
Harris, who was later sentenced to three months in jail, was also filmed shouting expletives and "growling" at Elizabeth. The footage was captured thanks to security cameras the family had in place, reports the Mirror.
Elizabeth's daughter Tracy appeared on the ITV show, where she told Richard and fellow presenter Kate Garraway that it had been a trial shift as she travelled from the house in Swansea to Cardiff for a few hours to collect a car.
Daughter's account of the incident
Richard noted that Harris had been drinking vodka while at the home. When Tracy later checked her phone to see what was happening she heard a noise and thought her mother was ill. She said: "And then I could hear the swearing, and the screaming, and my mum just sitting there completely terrified in the chair."
"And they actually, that noise you heard, was the carer growling," said Kate. "Growling," Tracy confirmed. "Growling at my dog, of all things, in the kitchen, and then growling at my mum."
Presenters react to harrowing footage
After the footage aired, Kate gasped while Richard exclaimed: "Good God!" "That's the first time we've seen those pictures and heard them," he continued. "What you saw there, what we all saw there was Anne, who was recovering from the bleed on the brain, being horribly abused by that woman, Louise Harris. Luckily that video helped the police investigation which led to being sentenced to three months in prison, even though she served less than half of that behind bars."
The presenter then addressed Tracy, saying: "Good God Tracy." Tracy revealed that her mum - who was in the Green Room backstage during the programme - is now "very, very traumatised" following the incident and that she "can't be left alone" for extended periods.
