By Tanasia Kenney
 |
| The husband and daughter of an Alabama woman found dead in her living room in March have been charged with elder abuse, according to the Valley Police Department. Getty Images |
A 72-year-old woman’s prescriptions went unfilled for years and she was living in “deplorable” conditions before her body was found earlier this year, according to Alabama authorities.
Now her husband and daughter are behind bars on elder abuse charges.
Walter Alfred Hawkins, 74, and Christy Lee Hawkins, 45, were arrested Wednesday, May 18, and charged in the death of 72-year-old Janice Ramsey Hawkins, according to the Valley Police Department. Their arrests come months after Janice Hawkins was found dead in the living room of the family’s home in Valley, a town of around 10,000 on the Georgia-Alabama line.
Officers were called to the home on 24th Avenue on March 16 and found the woman’s body inside, police wrote in a news release. The home’s condition and the condition of Hawkins’ body prompted an investigation, police said.
Officers were called to the home on 24th Avenue on March 16 and found the woman’s body inside, police wrote in a news release. The home’s condition and the condition of Hawkins’ body prompted an investigation, police said.
“Investigations found that Hawkins had not been seen by a doctor since 2019 and that none of her prescriptions, she had nine different medications, had been refilled since 2018,” authorities wrote in the release.
Her remains were taken for an autopsy, which showed Hawkins died as a result of “Failure to Thrive associated with complications of diabetes,” police said. The Failure to Thrive ruling stemmed from the findings that Hawkins was badly malnourished, dehydrated and underweight with a body mass index of just 14.
Her remains were taken for an autopsy, which showed Hawkins died as a result of “Failure to Thrive associated with complications of diabetes,” police said. The Failure to Thrive ruling stemmed from the findings that Hawkins was badly malnourished, dehydrated and underweight with a body mass index of just 14.
A BMI between 18.5–24.9 is considered “normal,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
Authorities also mentioned Hawkins’ “sunken eyes and prominent ribs,” adding that she was living in poor conditions with “dirty clothing, foul odor and roach infestation.”
Walter Alfred Hawkins was booked on a count of elder abuse, neglect and manslaughter, according to the release. Christy Lee Hawkins is charged with elder abuse and neglect.
Valley is about 80 miles northeast of Montgomery.
Full Article & Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment