NHCSO investigating viral video showing alleged mistreatment of elderly man in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a video posted online last week appeared to show the treatment of an elderly man in a Wilmington neighborhood.

On Monday, a deputy was seen leaving a home in the 7400 block of Ern Way in Wilmington. The home is alleged to be owned by a woman who was recorded last week forcing an elderly man to walk outside wearing only a T-shirt and a diaper.

The video, recorded on Friday by neighbor Jonathan Pigford, shows the man walking up to Pigford’s home. Pigford then escorts the man back toward his residence before being confronted by a woman Pigford identified as the man’s sister.

“He knows,” the woman said in the video.

“He knows what?” Pigford asked.

“Where he’s supposed to go. Are you supposed to be out here? No!” the woman responded.

Pigford then questioned why the man had been made to walk away from the home, to which the woman replied, “To teach him.”

“Teach him what?” Pigford asked.

In a video posted a few hours later, Pigford said he intended to help ensure the man’s safety and well-being.

“At the end of the day, man, I just want him to be safe and live his last days in some sort of glory, some sort of comfortability,” Pigford said.

The sheriff’s office has not released additional details about the investigation or whether any charges are pending.