INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A jury found a Vero Beach man guilty Wednesday in connection with his elderly mother’s death in 2021 after he refused to take her to the hospital while she battled several ailments. Brandon Blanchard faces the maximum sentence of 30 years in the Florida Department of Corrections, said Assistant State Attorney Bill Long who prosecuted the case.
Brandon Blanchard PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
The jury found Blanchard, 43, of the 1300 block of 27th Avenue, guilty of aggravated manslaughter of an elderly or disabled adult. Blanchard was held Wednesday at the Indian River County Jail without bond.
The trial began earlier this week in Circuit Court Judge Robert Meadow’s courtroom. Jury selection was held on Monday. Testimonies started on Tuesday, including accounts from deputies, doctors along with medical examiner’s officials, court records show.
Blanchard, who pled not guilty, was represented by Defense Attorney Michelle Rhodeback. In the courtroom, prosecutors presented previous interviews with Blanchard before and around the time of his arrest, along with autopsy photos, crime scene images, the mother’s medical records and photos of the woman in the emergency room.
Blanchard, and his then-wife Yannie Lund, were caregivers for Blanchard’s 76-year-old mother, Deanne Blanchard, at the time of her death that occurred on Feb. 6, 2021. The three were living at an apartment located on Woodland Drive in the Vista Royale community.
Lund, who was also charged in the aggravated manslaughter case, will be tried separately, Long said.
Medical examiners previously said Deanne Blanchard died from a number of factors, including a broken right arm, a blood infection, infected bed sores and hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The woman’s death was ruled a homicide, reports show.
Indian River County deputies started investigating the case after paramedics brought Deanne Blanchard to the Vero Beach emergency room. “The injuries and sores were consistent with possible neglect,” a deputy said in an arrest report.
Brandon Blanchard told deputies he knew his mother needed medical attention, but refused to take her to the hospital because of COVID-19, reports show. The son said his mother fell off the toilet and broke her arm weeks before her death.
“Blanchard acknowledged that a month prior, he saw bruising and swelling on his mother’s right arm, but refused to seek medical care for his mother,” reports show.
Brandon Blachard said Lund convinced and manipulated him not to take this mother to the hospital. Lund initially told deputies she had no knowledge of the woman’s injuries, but later admitted that her mother-in-law had bruising and swelling, reports show.
At the time, Brandon Blanchard and Lund were each arrested on a charge of manslaughter. Both were released in June 2021 from the county jail, each on a $50,000 bond.
Brandon Blanchard’s sentencing was set for 1:30 p.m. July 17, court records show. Lund’s trial was set for 9 a.m. Aug. 25.
