Inset: Christine Jackson (Schenectady County Sheriff's Office). Background: The home in Schenectady, N.Y., where Derek Henix was found in "deplorable" conditions (Google Maps).
A New York woman who was responsible for taking care of her elderly father has been found guilty of starving him.
Christine Jackson, 50, was convicted of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person for her treatment of her father, 73-year-old Derek Henix. According to a press release from the Schenectady County District Attorney, police were called to perform a welfare check at Jackson's home in Schenectady, New York, on March 25, 2025. When they found Henix, he was nearly naked in a bedroom in "deplorable" conditions.
Henix was transported to the hospital, where medical staff said he weighed just 73 pounds.
While Henix was being treated at the hospital, he told medical staff that he was "hungry and thirsty and that his daughter had been mistreating him," telling them that Jackson only fed him "fast food or pizza" once a day. He said Jackson had put a lock on the refrigerator and he "could not feed himself."
Doctors diagnosed Henix with severe malnutrition and severe peripheral vascular disease, adding that he had been starved to a point that his body could no longer heal itself. When he was brought to the hospital, Henix was unable to walk. According to the DA, medical staff worried that Henix was still at a high risk for "multiple catastrophic events, including death."
Over the next year, Henix developed gangrene in his left foot, and his left leg was eventually amputated. He died in March, about a year after he was removed from Jackson's care.
Jackson's mistreatment extended to Henix's finances. Jackson was also convicted of two counts of grand larceny for misusing funds that were meant to be put toward Henix's medical care and basic needs. An investigation of Jackson's bank records showed that she spent Henix's Social Security money on "restaurants, convenience stores, retail stores, nail salons, and Cash App transfers to herself and others."
Henix used to live at a skilled nursing home in the Bronx, New York, until June 2023, when Jackson took over his care. Medical staff provided a detailed care plan for Henix, including a prescription diet, but Henix began losing weight after just two months in Jackson's care. After Henix's weight dropped from 145 pounds to 129 pounds, Jackson took him to the doctor but "did nothing to follow the doctor's recommendations."
As Henix's weight continued to drop and his health deteriorated, Jackson prevented other family members from seeing him and blocked Schenectady County Adult Protective Services from providing assistance.
When police questioned Jackson after executing a search warrant at the home, she told them the lock on the refrigerator was necessary because her father was "nasty." She also told police that her father had stopped eating because he was "punishing himself."
Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said, "This was a shocking case of abuse and neglect of an elderly victim at the hands of his own daughter who starved her father to the point that he lost half his body weight."
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8.