MARIETTA, Ga. -- An 82-year-old Alzheimer's patient died after her caretaker went on a liquor run, according to police.

Vicky Simpson, 52, has been charged with elderly abuse following the death of Vivian Howell over the weekend.

Simpson left the elderly woman alone while she went to a liquor store, according to the arrest warrant.

Investigators said Simpson brought the alcohol back to Howell's house and started drinking.

The warrant states "As a result of the accused negligent actions the victim was later discovered in bed with injuries that required hospitalization and ultimately resulted in her death."

Simpson has a lengthy criminal record, and served time in jail in 2003 for beating her mother, but Howell's family failed to run a background check on Simpson.

"She came across as a very loving and caring person," said Howell's daughter Charlotte Gilham. "Us being Christians we had no reason to question that."

Family members want Simpson charged with murder, but police said given Vivian Howell's condition they would be hard pressed to prove that.