Posted on 03/22/2005 7:56:16 AM PST by SmithL
Kathleen Wilson lay on the kitchen floor of her Fairfield home for nearly two years after she died, her son and husband stepping around the remains as they prepared meals and went on with daily life.
Fairfield police discovered the corpse and arrested the woman's son, Jack Wilson, 58, Friday afternoon on suspicion of elder abuse. A concerned neighbor had reported not seeing the woman in about a year.
Wilson told police his mother had fallen in the kitchen sometime in mid-2003 and had remained there ever since, said Fairfield police Sgt. Mike Johnstone.
"He says he left her in the kitchen and tried to feed her and take care of her for a couple weeks before she died," Johnstone said.
Wilson has been cooperative with investigators. Police said he understood his mother was dead, but why he never tried to get her medical attention or report her death remains unclear.
"He didn't have an answer for that," Johnstone said.
Wilson's father, Harry Wilson, 81, was taken into the care of Adult Protective Services. He returned home from a walk as officers were arresting his son and asked where his wife was, Johnstone said.
"His state of mind wasn't quite right," Johnstone said.
A county social worker went to the Utah Street home for a welfare check Friday after a neighbor anonymously called Solano County's Adult Protective Services tip line. The social worker called police after detecting a strange odor emanating from the residence, Johnstone said.
Police say the home was in disarray, littered with trash and cat feces from family pets. Kathleen Wilson's clothed remains lay uncovered on the kitchen floor.
"Harry and Jack lived there, they were at the house, they continued to use the kitchen," Johnstone said.
Solano County Coroner's officials conducted an autopsy Monday, the results of which were not released. Police and the district attorney are waiting for the cause of death to determine whether additional charges will be brought against Jack Wilson.
Peggy Osborn, program manager for the Attorney General's Office's elder abuse public awareness campaign, said cases like Kathleen Wilson's shock the public but happen more often than most people realize.
"One thing about elder abuse, neglect or isolation is that it thrives on silence," she said. "What would have happened if someone had picked up a phone a year ago?"
Osborn says many individuals don't report elder abuse because they think they have to witness a violent act or injury such as a broken arm, but that's not true. Individuals can anonymously report abuse or concern for an elderly person by calling a toll-free state hotline at 888-436-3600.
"If someone had picked up a phone and said I haven't seen her in a while, that can save someone's life," Osborn said.
One for the "Just Damn!" file
Astounding. Humans can be well...inhuman.
Wow. Sometimes you just gotta wonder if certain people are simply born without a soul. Terrible.
THESE IDIOTS ARE CERTIFIABLE!
Mom voted for Kerry.
Pretty much sums it up.
You would think it would start to smell after a while.
more likely without a brain, or parts of it, probably without a nose too, dang, the smell!
You kind of expect this from the inbred idiots here but not elsewhere.
They should live in Florida.
It is apparently OK to let helpless people starve to death there; you know, her quality of life was not good.
Holy crap ping.
That truly is a narley thread while having your first cup of A.M Coffee!
"Harry and Jack lived there, they were at the house, they continued to use the kitchen," Johnstone said.
I bet they have a great immune system now.
WTF?
It's a good case against the call for making drugs legal...I can tell you that!
If a rotting animal smells as bad as it does I cannot fathom how bad a rotting human would smell.
Something just ain't adding up on this one.
Just Damn? or maybe not.
well, at least he fed her. Schiavo refuses to do even that.
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