Inset: Jonathan Simmons (Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office). Background: The 13000 block of State Highway 216 in Cottondale, Alabama, where Simmons' 76-year-old mother died from his alleged neglect (Google Maps).
An Alabama man entrusted with the care of his 76-year-old mother allowed her bedsores to become so bad that she eventually developed sepsis and died, authorities say.
Jonathan Simmons, 49, stands accused of reckless manslaughter and elder abuse in the death of his mother, Brenda Hallman Simmons.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Tuscaloosa News and local Fox affiliate WBRC, deputies with the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office responded May 16 to the 13000 block of State Highway 216 in Cottondale, which is about 45 miles southwest of Birmingham.
They found Brenda Simmons alive but unresponsive. Paramedics rushed her to the hospital, where she underwent treatment but died a few days later.
The home was in disarray and "excessively dirty and unsanitary," the complaint reportedly said.
Cops also noted the victim had insects and feces in her hair and did not appear to have been bathed recently.
Investigators said the victim had several open wounds and bedsores on her body from not being moved. An autopsy determined she died from sepsis caused by complications from the bedsores.
Jonathan Simmons said he lived at the home with his mother and was her sole caregiver, per cops. She had not been to see a doctor in over a year despite her deteriorating condition, he reportedly said.
A grand jury indicted him last week, according to the sheriff's office. He was arrested and taken to the Tuscaloosa County Jail on Sunday, where he remains on a $30,000 bond. His next court date is not listed.
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