A disabled woman in the care of her husband and son was discovered living in unhealthy conditions and reportedly had maggots covering her decomposing flesh. Her family members are facing charges for the alleged abuse.
A Sugar Hill, Georgia, obese and bedridden elderly woman living with her husband and son as her caretakers lost consciousness last Thursday, and Gwinnett County Fire Department Emergency Medical Technicians responded to the call for help.
The fire crew that dispatched in response to the call had been to the woman’s home one month prior when they transported her back from a trip to the hospital and assisted her into her home with the use of a “Mega Mover;” a special tarp designated for moving very large patients. When they came back to the apartment this time they believed that the woman had remained upon the same tarp with which they brought her home on since their previous visit. The once-clean canvas was now allegedly stained with fecal matter and the woman’s legs appeared to be blackened and decomposing. Maggots and cockroaches were reportedly eating the dead flesh from her body and they did not believe she would survive.
Due to the condition that they discovered the woman in the firemen reported the situation to the authorities, who went to the home to investigate the scene. An officer who entered the home disclosed that upon entry he was overcome by a foul stench that he suspected was coming from the garbage and excrement all over the apartment.
The woman’s husband and son, 54-year-old Terry Sorrell and 18-year-old Christian Sorrell, were arrested on allegations of neglect of a disabled or elderly person. They are being held at Gwinnett County Jail in lieu of $22,000 bond each.
According to the police report, Christian Sorrell disclosed that the family has been living with very limited monetary means and that no one in the household was employed.
If you or someone you love is suspected of domestic violence, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.