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PROVO — A Highland man is facing charges after allegedly leaving his mother in some of the worst living conditions police have ever seen, to the point that she died just one day after emergency crews were called.
Mackey Alexander Featherstone, 51, charged Thursday in 4th District Court with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 24, Pleasant Grove police and emergency personnel were called to a trailer home that the victim shared at the time with her son, according to charging documents. The charges do not name the victim, but her obituary lists her as being 78 years old at the time of her death.
"Paramedics described the living conditions of the residence as horrendous — the worst they had observed in their careers," charging documents state.
The mother was found on a couch, which she allegedly had not moved from in two weeks, according to the charges.
"Paramedics observed she was sitting in her own feces and urine," the charges state. "Paramedics also observed a bed sore on victim's right leg that was almost the size of her entire right thigh."
Doctors determined the woman was suffering from septicemia, or blood poisoning from bacteria, and died the next day from "septic shock … due to pneumonia, influenza and the necrotic wound on her right leg," the charges state.
When Featherstone was interviewed by police, he told them "he did everything to care for the victim, including cooking her meals, getting the groceries, cashing her checks and running her errands," according to charging documents.
He claimed his mother had only been on the couch three days, the charges state, and that he could not smell the feces or urine because he had the flu.
"He also stated that he had personal problems with hygiene and that he couldn't care for another person's hygiene issues," according to the charges.
