Son calls 911 saying his mom won’t wake up, officials say. He’s accused of killing her
A 50-year-old man was charged with murder after being accused of killing his mom, California officials said.
In January, Richard Towers of Santa Ana called 911 and said his 82-year-old mother wasn’t waking up, according to a news release by the Orange County District Attorney.
She was found “unconscious and suffering from numerous wounds consistent with neglect,” Santa Ana police said.
The woman, who was diabetic, was rushed to a medical center and died 10 days later, officials said.
The home didn’t have running water, and the woman’s insulin was stored in a refrigerator that was “littered” with insects, officials said.
She was “covered in dried feces and bedsores,” officials said. One such sore on her hip “left bone exposed.”
The woman’s house was covered in urine and was infested with cockroaches and other bugs, officials said.
Before her death, doctors diagnosed the woman with septic shock and found pressure wounds on her that “would have taken weeks to develop,” the district attorney said.
“The cruelty involved to allow your own mother to suffer in what undoubtedly was excruciating pain is unconscionable,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the release. “This was not accidental oversight by a careless caretaker; this was murder. The infliction of pain on a defenseless, elderly woman will not be tolerated in our community.”
In December 2023, Towers refused to allow officers inside the home when they tried to perform a welfare check, officials said.
Towers turned himself in on Feb. 12, police said.
Towers was charged with murder, inflicting injury on an elder adult and enhancement of causing great bodily injury on an elder adult, the release said.
Towers would face a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison if convicted on all charges, officials said.
Santa Ana is about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
If you suspect an elder adult or an adult with disabilities has experienced, is currently experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation, your first step should be to contact the appropriate agency.
National Adult Protective Services Association has a list of state agencies you can contact confidentially. Find help specific to your area here.
Quadriplegic man abandoned by hospital staff found covered in ants, Arizona cops say
Partially paralyzed woman dies in filthy conditions, SC cops say. Caregivers arrested
Mother let 16-month-old ‘waste away’ and die, AZ officials say. She’s going to prison
