Woman found guilty of abuse, manslaughter of elderly, nonverbal mother with dementia

by Megan Brugger

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah (KUTV) — A jury found a woman guilty of abuse and manslaughter of her elderly mother, who had dementia.

Lori Meers, 53, of Cottonwood Heights, was charged in September 2025 with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony, and manslaughter, a second-degree felony.

She was found guilty on Monday.

In March 2025, officers responded to Intermountain Medical Center to investigate a report of elder abuse.

The victim — a 77-year-old nonverbal woman with dementia — had allegedly been left on the floor, covered in feces.

Doctors determined the feces were a few days old. They said she was in "poor medical physical shape and had obvious bodily damage."

"[She] was so cold; she was hypothermic, and it took doctors hours to warm her up," the affidavit states. She also had bed sores and severe sepsis with septic shock.

The victim's twin sister told officers that the woman had been in the care of her niece, Lori Meers, for a "long time."

The sister said she wanted to find a permanent care facility for her, but claimed Meers "was dragging her feet and not following through with it."

A few weeks before the incident, Meers allegedly called the elder abuse hotline on herself, "because she was tired and not able to take care of [her mother] like she wanted to."

The twin sister went to visit three weeks later — on March 10 — and found the woman on the floor, ice-cold to the touch.

She told detectives that when she saw her sister three and a half weeks before this, she could talk and was "moving around and in good spirits."

The woman died on March 19, 2025. Her autopsy revealed significant trauma, and Meers was arrested.

According to the probable cause statement, Meers allegedly said, "Me allowing my mom to play in her own crap, is neglect. I don't care. Yeah, there might be reasoning behind it. There might be, you know, to me, justify not, maybe not justifiable, but, but there was reasoning behind it."

Utah is a mandatory reporter state, meaning any person who has reason to believe that a vulnerable adult is being abused, neglected, or exploited must immediately notify Adult Protective Services or the nearest law enforcement office.

You can also report suspected abuse directly to Utah's hotline at 800-371-7897, or online at https://daas.utah.gov/adult-protective-services/. 

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Woman found guilty of abuse, manslaughter of elderly, nonverbal mother with dementia

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Cottonwood Heights woman charged with neglecting elderly mother, contributing to her death