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SOUTH SALT LAKE — A South Salt Lake man faces a felony criminal charge accusing him of not properly caring for his adult daughter in a case that one doctor called one of the most gruesome he's seen in his career.
The 60-year-old man was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony.
The investigation began on Dec. 26 when police were called to St. Mark's Hospital where an ambulance had delivered a woman who was dehydrated, malnourished, and "covered in feces," according to charging documents.
A doctor told police that he had "seen some gruesome things in (his) career, but this may be the worst," the charges state.
The woman was not being fed and her teeth were not cared for, and "she has only been able to eat ice cream, sour cream and chicken broth for the past 18 months," the doctor told investigators, according to the charges. The doctor further stated that the woman "has not showered in a year, only weighs 65 pounds and is super emaciated," and had feces caked under her fingernails.
When the South Salt Lake Fire Department found the woman, she was "laying on a garbage bag" with feces all around her, the charges state. Police say her father told emergency crews that it had been "a week or two" since his daughter had eaten or drank anything. The woman further told crews that she has not been able to get out of bed for about a month because "she feels like she will pass out" and she cannot walk by herself.
She also said she could not eat because "all her teeth are broken" and it hurt to eat, the charges say.
The father allegedly told emergency crews that his daughter had been bedridden for a month and he had not sought any medical attention for her.
