Olathe man gets 31 years in death of mom whose 58-pound body was covered with bed sores

Bill Lukitsch
·2 min read

A 54-year-old Olathe man has been sentenced to more than 31 years in prison for the death of his mother whose emaciated body was discovered by authorities in her home in 2019.

Raymond T. McManness was handed a 374-month sentence in Johnson County District Court on Wednesday. He pleaded no contest, resulting in a guilty finding, in July on charges of second-degree murder and physical mistreatment or his mother, Sharon McManness.

In January 2019, Raymond McManness called police to the 300 block of South Cardinal Drive when he found his mother not breathing in her bed. Her primary caregiver, Raymond McManness, was criminally charged shortly after police found his mother severely malnourished and her home in major disarray.

The medical examiner’s office found she had died from an infection due to open bed sores. She was malnourished and dehydrated, and weighed only 58 pounds at the time of her death, court records say.

Police noted at the time that Sharon McManness was “very emaciated and had large open bedsores,” according to court records. One bed sore was “open to the bone,” and the mattress was dirty.

Police found no medications, no clean clothing, no working telephones and minimal food when they searched the home. Dog feces and urine was found throughout the house. And soiled clothes, that appeared to be cut off the victim, were found in a trash can in the driveway, court records said.

Raymond McManness told police at the time that he checked on his mother twice a day. He said he had moved out six months earlier because his mother kept him awake at night, court records said. Sharon McManness had dementia.

According to court records, Raymond McManness admitted that he stopped taking his mother to the doctor when her physical and mental health declined.

McManness was initially charged with first-degree murder, but the charge was lowered as part of a plea agreement. The sentence he received Wednesday reflects the guidelines struck under the plea agreement.