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MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Charles Wright, of Moscow, has been sentenced to at least three years in prison for the death of a 67-year-old man that died in his care.
A Latah County 2nd District Court Judge on Tuesday sentenced Wright to a maximum of seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty to principal to neglect of a vulnerable adult, reports The Lewiston Tribune (http://bit.ly/1IxGPG0 ).
The 25-year-old said that he never meant to harm Lee Pohrman, who died in his care in 2013.
"I loved Lee no matter what anybody says," Wright told the judge. "I just want to make everything right. I'm sorry to his children - I'm sorry to his family. I'm haunted every day, just like they are."
Wright and his wife, Lindsey Winter, 22, were arrested last year and both charged with three felonies related to Pohrman's death. They both entered plea agreements that reduced the number of charges to one for each.
Court documents say that police found Lee Pohrman unconscious on the couple's kitchen floor wearing only a dirty adult diaper. He was transported to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow, where he died from prolonged malnutrition, or starvation, which an autopsy report says was ongoing for "at least months."
Pohrman had been living with the couple for more than two years and was paying them per month to take care of him and for a place to stay, according to court documents. Police say that Pohrman's bank records indicate withdrawn amounts to Winter and Wright that exceed what the man would have paid them.
Wright's attorney, Mark Monson, argued that Wright has a limited intellectual capacity, which Pullman forensic psychologist Greg Wilson testified to. Monson said Wright didn't do anything sooner to help Pohrman in part because of his reduced cognitive function.
"I don't think Charles went into this with the intention to have anything bad happen to Lee," Monson said.
Winter sat a few rows back from the defense table at Tuesday's hearing. She pleaded guilty last month to principal exploitation of a vulnerable adult and will be sentenced in June.
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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com
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