Caretaker responsible for mid-July death of Daytona Beach man, police say

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona Beach police arrested the caretaker of a 49-year-old man who she said she found dead in his home in mid-July.

Diane Reid, 55, faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of Pernell Robinson, according to an arrest report.

Robinson, who had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, was found inside his home on July 15 by Reid, according to a report.

According to the arrest report, Robinson's kidney was bruised and his right arm was broken when police arrived. It also looked like his hands and wrists had been tied up, the report says.

He had reported similar injuries to police three years ago and initially blamed his caregiver at the time, but during the investigation, police said he recanted his story.

Reid told police she had not seen Robinson for three days, until she found him on the porch at his home on Taylor Avenue covered in dry blood and wearing disheveled clothes.

She brought him inside to get some rest.

Reid told officers it wasn’t unusual to find him in that state.

She left the home that afternoon to get him some food. When she came back, she said she found him on the bathroom floor and then noticed he wasn’t breathing. Reid called 911 and performed CPR.

Robinson was dead when paramedics arrived, police said.

During the investigation, police discovered that Reid had taken out a life insurance policy on Robinson shortly before his death.

Reid was also the last person with Robinson between the time he got home and was discovered dead, according to police.

Cox Media Group