By admin 
CHANDLER, AZ (AZFamily) — More information is surfacing about what led to the death of an 84-year-old woman in Chandler.
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The investigation into the death of Mary Elenz started last September. Police said she was the victim of neglect, and they have now arrested her son.
New court records show the woman was living in “gruesome” conditions. A hospice nurse who went to check in told police it was the most horrific thing she’s ever seen.
Peter Page, the son of suspect Allen Page, said he’s not surprised at what happened.
Peter said he was neglected as a child, and he believes what police are saying about his dad. He said his grandmother deserved better.
“It did not surprise me. It didn’t just because of how he treated me as a child,” Peter said.
Peter describes a worse-than-distant relationship with his father but remembers how he was treated.
“Back then it wasn’t taboo to smack your kids on the butt, but when you’re physically hitting them, yelling at them, cursing at them, doing drugs in the house, yeah,” Peter said.
Allen Page is facing a second-degree murder charge after he’s accused of neglecting Elenz and causing her death last September.
New court records show Page became her power of attorney in 2023. Records also indicate there were multiple reports that Page was abusing Elenz dating back to 2018, but there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him.
In May 2025, police said they learned Elenz was hospitalized for “failure to thrive,” malnutrition and other serious conditions but returned home under Page’s care afterward.
When investigators interviewed Page, they said he gave inconsistent stories about when he changed his mother’s diaper and when a nursing company had last been to the house.
Investigators said Page hadn’t worked since 2022 and that every time the Social Security Administration sent Elenz a payment of roughly $1,600, the money would be transferred to Page’s account. Police said he would use the money on himself, not for Elenz’s care.
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This investigation started last September when police said Page called hospice. A nurse said Elenz was living in deplorable conditions, with soiled blankets stuck to her skin, flies circling above her and fleas hopping on the bed.
The nurse told police that every part of Elenz skin that was touching the mattress had open wounds and was infested with maggots.
Elenz died the next day.
“That is the most heartless thing that you can do to someone, especially the people who can’t defend themselves,” Peter said.
Chris Jenney is another one of Elenz’ grandchildren. Jenney said he didn’t get to see her often because he’s in the military, but there was a point where he knew something wasn’t right and pushed police to investigate.
“It didn’t matter how much her mental state declined, she never forgot her grandchildren,” Jenney said. “There are phone calls where you could hear my uncle Allen take the phone from her and hang up the call.”
Jenney said it’s painful to imagine how she suffered, but it hurts more because she believed she was being taken care of.
“Allen had gaslighted my grandmother and her declining mental state so badly that when we were asking her how she was, asking her, ‘Are you getting what you need? Are you ok?’ She would say,’ Yeah, it’s fine, I’m fine.’ We had no idea to believe otherwise because her own son was looking after her,” Jenney said.
Both grandkids said they have questions about how Page was able to become a caregiver because he is a convicted felon.
Page is due back in court this week. He’s being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.
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