Widow who lived with dead husband faces welfare fraud trial

After examination by two psychiatrists, 55-year-old Ila Solomon was found competent Friday to stand trial on welfare fraud charges.

Solomon is accused of continuing to accept government benefits paid to her husband, 88-year-old Gerald “Scooter” Gavan Jr., while he lay dead more than nine months on the living room floor of their Lafayette home.

Solomon claims she didn’t report her husband’s death because she wanted to fulfill an unusual burial wish, but more than a few of her stories contradict public record.

Her defense attorney, public defender Kevin O’Reilly, had requested in June that Solomon undergo testing to determine whether she’s able to understand the court proceedings and assist in the preparation for her defense.

O’Reilly told Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 Judge Steven Meyer during a status hearing Friday that Dr. Jeffrey Wendt and Dr. Vernon Little deemed Solomon competent.

The findings of their psychiatric evaluations were filed confidentially with the court.

Meyer affirmed Solomon’s jury trial date for Nov. 24.