INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri man being investigated after his elderly mother was discovered effectively rotting to death in a vinyl recliner is accused of cashing in her Social Security check.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged James Owens with forgery, alleging he cashed the $741 check three days after his mother died last month.
Prosecutors say 74-year-old Carol F. Brown was left for so long her legs fused to the chair, and she had a maggot infested wound. Court documents described her as "a rotting corpse that was still breathing." She suffered a stroke and died at a hospital.
Owens said he left her because she wanted to die at home.
Court documents do not show that Owens has an attorney. His phone rang unanswered Friday.
No charges have been filed in Brown's death.
Prosecutors on Thursday charged James Owens with forgery, alleging he cashed the $741 check three days after his mother died last month.
Prosecutors say 74-year-old Carol F. Brown was left for so long her legs fused to the chair, and she had a maggot infested wound. Court documents described her as "a rotting corpse that was still breathing." She suffered a stroke and died at a hospital.
Owens said he left her because she wanted to die at home.
Court documents do not show that Owens has an attorney. His phone rang unanswered Friday.
No charges have been filed in Brown's death.