Jersey City Woman Found Dead in Squalor, Relatives Charged

By Alicia Cruz
The New Jersey Newsroom

Two Jersey City women have been charged by police after their relative was found dead Thursday in a filthy, roach-infested bedroom where the temperatures had reached over 100 degrees, The Jersey Journal reported.

The sister and mother of Wendy Garland, 33, have been arrested and charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled person. Police say Helene Hutchinson, 45, and her mother, Florence Garland, 78, were the primary caregivers for the woman. Hutchinson owns the home, located at 411 Woodlawn Avenue, which has been in foreclosure for the past two years.

Police say it was Garland who found the woman, who suffered from cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, unresponsive with her eyes open around 12:30 p.m. She then notified a 19-year-old nephew who told police that when he checked on his Aunt around 3 a.m. Thursday, she was alive. The nephew has not been charged in connection to the woman's death.

Hutchinson was notified of her sister's death while at her job in Newark. Around 2:45 p.m. she finally called the Jersey City Medical Center, said police, who arrived at 3 p.m. and found the victim lying dead in the throes of decay.

Police said a family member asked Hutchinson if she had called 911, and she responded "no, because she is dead." Officers say Hutchinson then carried her sister to the front door before EMS arrived in an attempt to conceal the condition of the home.

Despite her condition, the victim had not been prescribed any medications and had not seen a doctor for two to three years, The Jersey Journal reported.

A cause of death was not immediately known, but officials believe the sweltering heat may have played a role. Police said that family members waited more than two hours to call 911 about the victim -- only after rearranging some furniture in the single-family home that reeked of garbage, urine and feces.

The toilet on the second floor of the home, where the temperature measured in at 100 degrees, was filled with human excrement and was not working. Police also said there was urine filled bucket on the floor of the bathroom and the shower was filled with garbage. The ceiling in the victim's bedroom had collapsed and beams were visible.

There was only one air conditioner on the first floor of the home and it was running when police arrived. Police say both the first and second floors were infested with roaches, flying insects and rotting food.

"It's a shame that family members who are in charge of taking care of a family member who can't take care of herself can commit a crime like this," said Police Director Sam Jefferson.

"It's unimaginable how much pain this woman must have gone through."

CBS News reported that the mother and sister are being held in the Hudson County Jail.