PORT HURON (WWJ) -- A Thumb area man was charged with Elder Abuse, and could face additional charges, for allegedly allowing his mother to live in "deplorable conditions", sheriff's officials said.
The Huron County Sheriff's Office said the defendant's 71-year-old mother arrived at McLaren Thumb Hospital via ambulance on March 1st around 6:20 p.m. Authorities said she was in "severe distress" and unresponsive with her clothes "heavily soiled" in urine and fecal matter. She also had "deep bedsores with maggots living within," according to sheriff's officials.
She was identified as Kathleen Holdwick. Authorities tell WWJ she was under the home care of her son, Oval Jarvis, 41.
The hospital contacted dispatch about her condition. While two officers drove toward her home, Holdwick died.
According to sheriff's officials, Huron County Sergeant Brad Strozeski arrived at the home on Port Crescent Road in Hume Township. Jarvis allowed Sergeant Strozeski and a deputy into the home. Authorities encountered an "unbearable scene of filth from garbage, fecal matter and urine."
Authorities said Jarvis claimed the conditions weren't "all that bad" and denied knowledge of how poorly his mother was doing. Deputies took Jarvis into custody. The Huron County Prosecutor's Office charged him with Elder Abuse on a Vulnerable Adult Second Degree, and may pursue additional charges.
