A Florida man has been charged with neglecting his elderly mother to the point she was malnourished, septic from infections, and suffering from open sores and infested with maggots.
Jason Thomas Russell, 47, called 911 on Thursday and reported that his 79-year-old mother was unresponsive, the Tampa Free Press reported. When medics arrived, Russell had put the woman in a wheelchair in the driveway and refused to let them inside to check on her medications.
The woman was taken to a hospital, where doctors said her skin was “rotting from infection.” She died two days later.
Court documents say that when his mother was loaded onto the ambulance, Russell went back into the house and refused to come out, Law&Crime reported. He told deputies to “get a search warrant.” He eventually did come back outside, and deputies told him they needed to secure the house as a potential crime scene. At that point, Russell became uncooperative and refused deputies orders to stay out of the house, landing him in handcuffs.
Russell reportedly told police that his mother “did not let him touch her or assist her” and that her condition had deteriorated in the past six months. She refused to go to the hospital, he said.
He was charged with abuse and neglect of an elderly person nd resisting an officer without violence. The State’s Attorney’s Office is now determining whether to upgrade charges in light of the woman’s death.
Russell is being held without bond and is due back in court on October 22.
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[Featured image: Jason Thomas Russell/Hernando County Detention Center]
