Vulnerable Adult Abuse and Unlawful Imprisonment

It has hardly been a handful of months since the story about Candy Larson, the woman accused of keeping her disabled sister locked in a closet for seven years, hit the news. People were horrified and the media devoured the story with the intensity of vultures, calling the situation unbelievable.  And yet here we are again, with almost exactly the same situation. This time in Michigan.

 
It’s a Mt. Morris Township couple,Patsy Marshall and her husband, Andrew Green, who are facing charges. And the charges are almost identical. According to police, they received several complaints from friends and family members of an older gentleman who appeared to be missing. Apparently no one had seen him in years and they were worried.

 
Police arrived at Patsy Marshall’s home for a wellbeing check. They searched the property and discovered a secret hidden in a back bedroom. A 62-year-old disabled man was in a filthy bed that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for the seven years he had been confined to it. Unable to walk due to an injury, he had been forced to rely on his sister for care. And she allegedly had declined to give it.

 
Officers at the scene said that the bed was completely soaked with urine and feces, and smelled so overpoweringly bad, that they were unable to remain in the room for more than a few minutes at a time. The only information currently available for what placed the man in that position was that he had suffered a severe leg injury and was immobile, requiring care.

 
According to police who have been investigating the situation, Marshall didn’t help her brother to the bathroom once during that seven year period, and only provided him with a single daily meal. In addition, he was also apparently denied contact with outside people, including the two children who also lived in the home.

 
The 62-year-old man, a GM retiree, was apparently covered in feces and cockroaches when officers discovered him, lying in the urine soaked bed. Officers said that he looked bewildered when they arrived, but thanked them profusely, claiming that they had saved his life. He has since been hospitalized for treatment of his wounds. When he is sufficiently healed, police say that he will be placed in an adult care facility.

 
Marshall and her husband Green are now facing numerous charges as a result. Both are charged with vulnerable adult abuse and unlawful imprisonment. Under Michigan law, both charges are felonies punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

 
In addition, officers say that they are currently investigating whether or not Marshall and Green were embezzling money belonging to Marshall’s brother. It has been estimated that if true, the amount could well exceed ten thousand dollars. If this ends up being the case, the charges will likely be amended to include embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, which is punishable by up to 4 years in prison.