FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- Two women were arrested Monday (June 20) on suspicion of elder abuse after an 85-year-old woman was found covered in feces and live maggots, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
First responders were called to a home on North Green Acres Road in Fayetteville just after midnight Sunday in response to a woman who was not breathing, arrest reports state. The fire fighters who responded described the injuries they found on the woman to be the worst they had ever seen.
The victim was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center.
WARNING: The following details are graphic.
The woman was completely covered in feces and her socks were stuck to her feet because of the swelling caused by contact with fecal matter and urine, according to arrest reports. There were lacerations on her legs and there were live maggots in the wounds, the arrest reports state.
One of the wounds near the woman's ankle and another on her knee were so deep bone and ligaments were visible, the arrest reports state.
“It became very obvious that this was a severe case of neglect,” said Sgt. Craig Stout, spokesman for the Fayetteville Police Department. “The level of neglect there, it is just very-very disturbing."
There were also pressure wounds on the victim's side and back that had pieces of newspaper and magazine stuck to them, according to arrest reports.
Hospital staff said the wounds on the victim were the worst they had ever seen from neglect.
The caregivers were identified as Rose Mary Austin, 75, who is the victim's sister, and Evelyn Schafer, 54, who is the victim's daughter, the arrest reports state. The two women and the victim live together.
Austin and Schafer told police the victim fell on June 13 and they put her on a couch where she did not move or talk until two days later, according to arrest reports.
A search of the home found the victim had about two feet of space on the couch that was covered in feces and trash, the arrest reports state. Austin said the woman slept on the couch and in a chair nearby.
Neither Austin nor Schafer provided a reason for not contacting emergency responders after the victim was unresponsive for four days, according to the arrest reports.
The victim had be placed on a ventilator and hospital staff said she may never again regain the ability to breath on her own, the arrest reports state. It also appears the woman had not been able to walk on her own for quite some time because of the condition of her feet and legs, according to arrest reports.
“She may never fully recover from this incident,” Stout said.
Both Austin and Schafer appeared in court on Wednesday (June 22) for their bond hearing. Their next court appearance will be an arraignment on July 25.