‘I could smell decaying flesh’: Elderly neglect arrest

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WALA) - A Florida woman is accused of leaving her father in a chair for two months, causing him to sit in his own feces and have severe injuries.

According to an arrest report, Pamela Reynolds was living with her father on Helen Street in Pensacola and was his caregiver. Her father has multiple health issues such as diabetes, heart failure and is hard of hearing.

Reynolds told investigators she had not moved her father since early June because of transportation issues and he had not seen a doctor since January.

On July 31, Reynolds called 911 after she said her father had a high heart rate. He was then taken to the hospital.

Once he got to the hospital, records show a nurse found he had a severe sacrum (lower back) injury and his right hip had necrotic tissue, which is rotting skin. The nurse said the injuries, which had maggots and feces in them, were potentially caused by not being moved from the position he was lying in for months.

The report also says he had feces in his beard, fingernails and feet and appeared to be severely malnourished.

An officer who went to the hospital after receiving a report of elder abuse, spoke to the father and said he could smell decaying flesh coming from him. The officer said the father couldn’t move himself and was lying very stiff with his legs and feet, which were brown and discolored, curled up underneath himself. He said Reynold’s father had a softball size injury on his right hip that had black and yellow tissue with pus, multiple pieces of skin peeling, bruises and open red sores.

The officer said the father seemed to be aware of the situation and said he had been lying in the chair for several months.

Court documents say Reynolds told officers she gave her father food, medicine, bathed him with soap and water, and changed his diapers daily.

She said she did not see or was not aware of his injuries.

Reynolds is now charged with elderly neglect and is being held in Escambia County Jail on no bond.

She has a court date set for Aug. 22