SPRINGDALE, Ark. — A Springdale couple that has been charged with manslaughter and elder abuse after the death of a 78-year-old woman has pleaded not guilty.
Gary Cannady, 45, and Sandy Cannady, 42, were both arrested on March 4 and booked into the Washington County Jail on counts of second-degree murder (manslaughter) and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree.
According to a report from the Springdale Police Department (SPD), emergency services were dispatched after a report of an elderly person with "multiple injuries all over her body, including her back, arms, legs, bottom, and stomach."
Once on the scene, Sandy was "adamant that they only check the victim's vitals," and "refused to have her mother taken to the hospital," according to the report.
Emergency services told police that the victim was covered in feces and smelled like urine. The report says that the victim was "barely alive," lying on the emergency room bed in a fetal position.
Sandy, the victim's daughter, later told police that her mother had been lying in that position for at least three months, and that the last time her mother was seen by a doctor was a year and a half ago, the report said.
"The victim's entire body was in a state of extreme atrophy. The nursing staff were unable to adequately move her arms and legs," the report added.
Gary was interviewed and admitted that he knew his mother-in-law needed medical attention and that the woman never received it.
Police were informed at 2:30 a.m. on March 5 that the woman, identified as Loretta Mulanax, had died at a local hospital.
Gary and Sandy's trial has been set for November 2024.
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