Investigators are trying to determine whether neglect charges will be filed in the case of an obese, bed-ridden woman who died Monday at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital. She was found last week living in a filthy apartment in Warren.
Officials were debating Tuesday whether to perform an autopsy in Oakland County where the woman died at a hospital or Macomb County, where she was taken from her apartment last Wednesday. Police and fire officials initially estimated her weight to be 500 pounds. Her weight when she died was 360 pounds, according to the Oakland County Medical Examiners Office.
•500-pound woman removed from infested Warren home
At some point, this lady should have been getting care that she did not get, said Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green, who did not release the 41-year-old womans name. There should have been some intervention way before this happened.
Investigators say that prosecutors in Macomb County are considering whether to file neglect charges in the case. Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith did not immediately return a call seeking comment today.
The womans husband called 911 a week ago requesting help at their apartment off Gloede near 12 Mile Road. The woman was taken to St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Township, where she died Monday morning.
Her sister-in-law, who is now caring for the womans children and did not want to be identified today, said the womans health started to fail on Sunday. She declined further comment.
Rescuers found the bedridden woman in filthy conditions that included maggots and bugs. Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams said firefighters had to wear biohazard suits in order to remove her.
Investigators said her children, ages 13, 11 and 2-year-old twins, were in good condition.
Her family said the woman has been bedridden after her hip was crushed in early 2011 in a hit-and-run accident.
Her husband said Wednesday said he tried to take adequate care of her. Teary-eyed the day after she was taken away, he said that she was making her own medical decisions, talking by phone with her doctors, insisting she was OK. He said he finally insisted on calling for help.
"I love her and it was hard, and it was just me," he said. "And I just did the best I could for so long."
He asked that the family not be identified to prevent ridicule of his older children.
Investigators had to take out the doorwall of the small, two-story brick apartment across 12 Mile from Macomb Community College's Warren Campus to remove the woman. The apartment remains sealed as Warren Police Detective Kevin Dailey continued his investigation, with the childrens clothes and belongings locked inside.
"Their car seats, their winter coats," their father said last week, desperation evident in his voice. He declined to talk more about the situation, which he said had become overwhelming.
Green said police were working with Childrens Protective Services and Adult Protective Services on the situation.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario