Florida man arrested after dad found locked in room for months, covered in feces and cockroaches
04/25/2022 3:36 pm PDT
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (TCD) -- A 22-year-old man stands accused of neglecting his elderly father by locking him in a room for months at a time.
According to WFLA-TV, on April 5, deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office received a report of possible elderly abuse. Deputies responded to the home, where they reportedly found the victim who called 911. The victim had allegedly been locked in the bedroom for eight months and suffered multiple seizures over the previous two days without medical care.
According to WPEC-TV, the victim and the entire bedroom he was allegedly locked in were reportedly covered in feces — including the floors, walls, and bed. Additionally, authorities allegedly found him covered in bedsores, and cockroaches were crawling out from underneath him as he was being removed from the location.
According to the affidavit obtained by WFLA, deputies searched the home and could smell feces and urine from outside. There were reportedly urine-filled plastic bottles around the bedroom.
The victim was transported to the hospital, where investigators were able to interview him about what had happened, WFLA reports. The victim reportedly told authorities he was unable to open the door to leave the bedroom, as his son, Jonathan Woods, tied a string to another door in the house to keep him from opening it.
The victim was allegedly left in the room and had not consumed any food or water in the previous four days. The last thing he ate was reportedly a leftover hamburger from his son. According to WFLA, the victim gave money to Woods to purchase food, though sometimes Woods would just spend the money on something else.
The hospital staff told authorities the victim’s condition was a clear sign of neglect, WFLA reports. Woods was reportedly living with the victim as his caregiver in a 55 and older community. The victim allegedly did not want to call authorities initially because he didn’t want his son to get in trouble. However, according to WFLA, the victim was scared he could possibly die in his condition.
Deputies reportedly spoke with Woods, and he acknowledged that he knew he wasn’t doing the best job taking care of his father, but he didn’t "know how bad things were."
According to records, Woods was arrested April 6 and charged with neglect of an elderly person/disabled adult and false imprisonment, with bail set at $50,000.
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