UP F RONT
Man killed by train was investigated for involvement in Atherton elder abuse case By Andrea Gemmet Almanac Staff Writer
J
on Armstrong, the pedestrian who died after being hit by a train on Friday, April 2, in San Bruno was a 52-yearold Menlo Park resident who was being investigated by the Atherton Police Department on suspicion of abusing an elderly Atherton woman. He was hit at about 6:30 a.m. in the pedestrian crossing area at the north end of the San Bruno Caltrain station, Caltrain spokeswoman Christine Dunn said. An autopsy was being performed, and a ruling on whether his death was a suicide is still pending, said a spokeswoman for the San Mateo County coroner’s office on Monday, April 5. Mr. Armstrong’s death brings a sudden climax to a messy saga that has been talked about in Atherton for months. The story, involving a wealthy Atherton widow in failing health, allegations of undue influence, withheld
medical care and elder abuse, and a dramatic intervention by concerned friends, is being revealed through court documents in the civil conservatorship case. In January, Mr. Armstrong was served with a temporary restraining order to keep him away from the 81-year-old alleged victim. A petition filed in San Mateo County Superior Court on Feb. 3 accuses Mr. Armstrong of financial and physical abuse. The victim is described in the documents as having a long history of alcoholism and bipolar disorder. The petition to place the elderly woman’s affairs under the supervision of a conservator alleges that Mr. Armstrong was “causing (the victim)’s health to deteriorate toward death so that he could inherit her estate under documents he influenced her to prepare.� Mr. Armstrong’s attorney, Daniel Barton, did not return The Almanac’s telephone request for comment by the Monday press deadline. Walter Shjeflo, the attorney
representing the victim’s only child, said he’s meeting with Mr. Armstrong’s attorneys this week to assess the situation in light of Mr. Armstrong’s death. “We’re going to try to handle it in a fair and humane manner,� he told The Almanac. “It’s a very sad situation. My condolences to Mr. Armstrong’s family,� said Atherton resident Jon Buckheit, who was appointed the elderly woman’s temporary conservator by the court. “Whether this will have an impact on the future proceedings, it seems to me that Mr. Armstrong cannot, by nature of his death, continue to object. I will continue to cooperate and do what I can.� Sgt. Sherman Hall of the Atherton police department confirmed that he was in the midst of investigating a complaint of elder abuse involving fraud through theft and deceit, as well as abuse through deprivation of medical care. With Mr. See ARMSTRONG, page 16
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DANIELJONAS
DLCL WRITER IN RESIDENCE
Poetry Reading (Bilingual in Portuguese and English) Tuesday, April 13, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Pigott Hall (Bldg. 260), Room 216 Stanford University’s Main Quad Refreshments at 5:00; Reading at 5:30 Daniel Jonas, of Portugal, has published four collections of poems including Os Fantasmas Inquilinos (The Phantom Tenants) and Sonótono (Dreamtone), which was awarded the P.E.N. prize in 2008. He has translated into Portuguese Shakespeare, Waugh, Huysmans, Pirandello, Milton and Auden and is now working on a translation of selected poems by William Wordsworth. In 2008, he debuted as a playwright with the play Nenhures (Nowhere) for Teatro Bruto. He has been working with the S. João National Theatre in Porto, and he has co-directed the dramaturgy of the plays The Merchant of Venice and the stage reading of Paradise Lost.
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April 7, 2010 â&#x2013; The Almanac â&#x2013; 3