West Palm woman beaten, burned by grandson has died
WEST PALM BEACH — Nearly two months after Delores Allen’s grandson beat her and set her West Palm Beach home on fire, the 69-year-old woman has died, city police said.
A posting on the family’s GoFundMe page indicates she died early Friday “surrounded by her loving family.”
Allen’s grandson, Trevonte T. Adderly, was arrested July 6, the day after he allegedly beat his grandmother in the face and set fire to her living-room couch.
Family members say the 26-year-old suffered severe mental illness, prompting his older brother, U.S. Navy officer Travon Marq Adderly, to begin planning the launch of a campaign he calls “Say Yes to Mental Success.”
Travon Adderly said that since he and his brother watched their father kill their mother, Tracey Coleman, in 1997, the younger Adderly has struggled with severe mental illness.
“I don’t want him to be in a jail. I want him to be in a mental-health facility, because he needs that help,” Travon Adderly said during a news conference announcing his campaign in mid-July. “He can’t just be thrown away.”
The attack gained national attention with former Glades Central High School football player Willie Snead, now with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens, donating $1,000 to help the family cover medical fees and the cost to rebuild the home. Ravens owner Stephen Bisciotti also made a $5,000 donation.
Surveillance-camera footage from that evening shows Adderly leaving his grandparents’ home on the 4000 block of Shelley Road South about 15 minutes before Allen exits the home bleeding profusely from her face as smoke billowed out of the door behind her.
Neighbors helped the woman as they waited for city rescue crews to take her to St. Mary’s Medical Center.
City firefighters also rescued a dog from the home.
Records indicate that Allen and her husband, Emanual Allen, previously had violent conflicts with their grandson. Adderly appears to have been living with his grandparents at the time of the fatal attack.
He remains jailed without the possibility of posting bond. His case is set for a disposition Sept. 11.
ohitchcock@pbpost.com