Wife, son charged with duct-taping, pepper-spraying man

A man training to be a monk and his mother have been arrested in far north suburban Winthrop Harbor after authorities said they used pepper spray and duct tape to restrain the woman’s husband, who has dementia and is bedridden.

At a court appearance this morning, Lake County Assistant State’s Atty. Marc Bangser said the pair were taken into custody Tuesday after a waitress at a Waukegan restaurant overheard them on Monday "bragging" about what they’d done to the man, who Bangser said is a 74-year-old Navy veteran.

Anthony Kelley, 40, the son of the alleged victim, and his mother Diane Kelley, 63, are charged with aggravated battery to a person over 60, officials said, while Diane Kelley is also charged with unlawful restraint.

Bangser said the Kelleys, of the 11000 block of Adams Avenue, used duct tape to tie the man to his bed. The prosecutor said Anthony Kelley also admitted to using pepper spray on his father, while Diane Kelley admitted slapping him and hitting him with a book bag out of frustration as she was caring for him.

Bond was set at $50,000 each by Judge Raymond Collins. The prosecution had sought $100,000.

The man is now at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.

While requesting public defenders, Diane Kelley said she is a housewife, while her son said he was studying to become "a Russian monk."