A vulnerable adult abuse charge has been brought against a 66-year-old South Carolina woman who allegedly left her 90-year-old husband, who has dementia, unattended at home while she dined out with friends, causing him to fall and sustaining injuries that went untreated overnight.
Teresa Marie Mills faces charges of vulnerable adult abuse and vulnerable adult neglect, according to the North Charleston Police Department. Officers were dispatched around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday to a home on North Kentwood Drive following a welfare check request.
Vulnerable Adult Abuse Charge: What Officers Found
On arrival, officers found the victim sitting alone on the front porch. He appeared disoriented, was unable to communicate, and was bleeding from injuries he had sustained.
The conditions inside the property were described in the police report as deplorable. Officers detected what they called ‘a strong, overwhelming odour’ before they had even entered the building.
‘Officers described the home’s living conditions as deplorable, reporting feces and urine stains throughout the residence and signs of rodent activity, including boxes and other belongings that appeared to have been chewed,’ police wrote in their account of the scene.
Paramedics were called to the address. The elderly man was subsequently placed in emergency protective custody and taken to hospital for treatment, according to a Yahoo News report on the arrest.
No Medical Attention Sought After the Fall
Mills told officers she had left her husband alone the previous day, on the Saturday evening, so she could attend a dinner with friends. He fell during that period.
When she returned home and found him injured, she did not call emergency services or contact a doctor. No medical help was sought until officers arrived the following evening.
Mills also told police that a carer visits the property once a week to bathe her husband. Fox 8 Live confirmed Mills is 66 years old.
Vulnerable adult protection in South Carolina falls under the South Carolina Legislature’s adult protection statutes, which impose obligations on carers and household members responsible for vulnerable individuals. Those obligations include a duty to report injuries and to obtain medical assistance.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services administers adult protective services in the state and may conduct a parallel investigation alongside the criminal proceedings.
Mills has been charged, not convicted. Subject to any further proceedings, the case will pass to the relevant prosecuting authority. The next stage will be a first appearance before a South Carolina magistrate, at which bail conditions and the formal charges will be addressed.
