Local Senior Allegedly Conned Out Of Home, Left In Maine Shack To Die
FAIRFAX (CBSLA.com) —A local senior claims she was tricked out of her home and taken across the country, where she was left to die in a cabin.
The case of alleged elder endangerment is under investigation after Sarah Cheiker, 91, disappeared from her Fairfax home and was found several years later on the other side of the country.
Cheiker lived on Edinburgh Avenue in the Fairfax district and was found over 3,000 miles away, alone, in a small shack in the back-country of Edgecomb, Maine. She says she was tricked into selling her Los Angeles home before she was driven across the country to live in destitution.
In 2008, Cheiker suddenly vanished, and her house was subsequently demolished. A new house was built on the lot, and was sold.
"I've known Sarah Cheiker for probably over 40 years," neighbor and friend Jim Caccavo said.
Caccavo filed a missing person's report after Cheiker's disappearance. He assumed she was dead, until he received a phone call from an FBI agent in 2012.
"He wanted to know if I knew a Sarah Cheiker, and I said 'Yes i do'," Caccavo said. "And I asked him 'Is she alright, is she alive', and he said 'barely'."
Twins Barbara and Nicholas Davis, and their godson Jonathan Stevens allegedly befriended Cheiker and conned her into giving them her home, according to sources. At that point, the Davis' allegedly drove her to Maine and forced her to live in the small shack.
"When they found her, they said that she had spoiled fast food, one light bulb in the cabin that was burned out, and it was very hot," Caccavo said.
The Davis twins reached a deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty to endangering a senior, but never served any prison time.
"Basically they are free, and Sarah has nothing," Caccavo said.
Caccavo says he has visited Cheiker in Maine, where she now lives in an assisted-living facility.