Wow this is a bit of a sick one, and not a run-of-the-mill “Gun Death?” story
Twin Houston men were charged Tuesday with the murder of their 89-year-old mother after police say the pair allowed her to die on the floor in their foyer after she fell, then lived for three months with her decomposing, bug-infested corpse….The twins later told police they lived with their mother and cared for her. On Jan. 10, Edwin Berndt said he and his brother were watching the BCS Championship football game when their mother “came in ranting and raving and she then fell down and did not get up.” He said they decided to leave her on the floor because they didn’t have money to provide her with medical treatment.
For the first day, Sybil Berndt was conscious and able to speak, but did not ask for any help, Edwin Berndt said. His brother said they didn’t give her any food or water while she lay on the floor.
Three days later, on Jan. 13, the elderly woman died, Edwin Berndt told police. He told them he remembered the date because it was a day after her 89th birthday.
The brothers then decided to leave her on the floor because they didn’t have money to bury her.
OK that’s crazy sick! She fell and was hurt, but still able to communicate, and they just left her there until she died…then continued to walk around her as she rotted.
Now I have heard of such cases where relatives don’t report a death so the Social Security check will keep coming. No mention of that, nor did they even attempt to conceal the body. There must be some serious mental illness involved.
h/t Bob
Three. Days.
I’d bet money that she didn’t die from whatever made her fall, or from any injuries she got from the fall – she died of dehydration, because they couldn’t even be bothered to give her water!
I also find this extremely disturbing:
It’s pretty unusual for someone’s nightgown to end up pulled up under their arms just from falling. Add that to the $700,000 that appears to have been in the bank, and I have to think there’s a lot more to it than what they’re saying.
Oh yeah she died from dehydration, no doubt. Possibly she might have been underfed and dehydrated BEFORE the fall just because it appears her care givers were total rejects.
As for the nightgown, probably not from falling…but maybe from two days of attempting to get up. Flail your arms and you’ll pull clothing every which way, and it’ll stick where the most friction is. In this case under the arms. Same reason why my PJ pants are always bunched up around my knees when I wake up from a bad night’s sleep. I’m tossing and turning, so my pants get pushed up and pushed down….but when they get over my calf and onto my thinner knee they’re less likely to go back down….