CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Chesapeake city councilwoman Amanda Newins shared her side of the story on the second day of the trial over alleged financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Newins, elected to Chesapeake City Council in November 2022, faces accusations of financially taking advantage of her great aunt and uncle, who have been described in the courtroom as her closest living relatives and effectively serving as second parents through her childhood and adulthood.
The case centers around the acquisition of a home off of Kempsville Road in Virginia Beach that her great aunt and uncle, Shirley and Bobby Davis, have lived in for roughly 50 years.
The house was officially transferred to Newins from Bobby and Shirley Davis through a “Gift of Deed” around the same time period her great uncle was diagnosed with late-stage dementia and Alzheimers. Around the same time, the Davises moved in with Newins and her husband to their Chesapeake home.
In her court testimony Wednesday, Newins told jurors she and her husband took steps to support the couple through Bobby's declining health, including Newins' attachment to their financial accounts and becoming their power of attorney.
She admitted to helping write checks for Shirley Davis where she would then sign them, and that she was in constant communication between Bobby and Shirley.
Court documents said the transfer of the house was "consistent with the desires written in their wills."
On the witness stand, Newins explained that the plan was for her husband to make repairs to the Kempsville Road property before they could all move in under one roof; a move that would make it easier to care for Bobby Davis.
She added that her husband was completing the labor for free, but the money for the materials needed for the renovations was coming from the Davises.
Newins said her great uncle had both "good days and bad days," but that he was aware and understanding of the decisions made related to the Kempsville Road property.
In cross examination, the Commonwealth Attorney's Office cited a previous medical intake document filled out by Newins, in which she described how her great uncle was forgetting names of people he knew like his wife (Shirley Davis) and Amanda herself.
By January, the inside of the Kempsville home "was gutted," according to Amanda. Her husband previously described how their furniture had either been disposed of or sold.
Newins' husband also revealed the property is rented out for approximately $2,250 per month, which Shirley Davis does not receive.
Newins' statements on the witness stand come a day after a notary revealed she did not physically see the Davises sign the Gift of Deed over to Amanda.
Both sides rested their cases Wednesday afternoon, and jurors are expected to come in Thursday morning for the trial's conclusion.