Euless woman gets probation for neglect of bedridden mother

A 58-year-old woman whose bedridden mother was found dead and covered in feces and bedsores was sentenced to 10 years’ probation Tuesday.

Bonnie Ann Cupples of Euless received a sentence of deferred-adjudication probation three years after her mother’s emaciated, naked body was found in the apartment they shared, according to a news release from the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.

The body of Bonnie Lee Cupples, 77, was found by Euless police who reported a strong odor and a filthy scene, the news release said.

The mother and daughter have the same first and last names. The mother’s middle name was Lee.

“Her hair was matted and she was lying in a pool of feces that was several inches deep. Her bedsores were so severe that bone and organs were exposed. Body tissue was stuck to her bed sheets,” the news release said.

The older woman was 5 feet 3 and weighed 86 pounds. Her death was ruled a homicide due to malnutrition, dehydration and grave bedsores, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

Bonnie Ann Cupples told police that her mom had Alzheimer’s and had been bedridden and incapacitated for at least six months. She had not seen a doctor in more than a year, according to the news release.

Cupples collected her mother’s Social Security check to pay for groceries and care for her. She told police that she didn’t put her mother in a nursing home or hospice because her mother didn’t want that.

The daughter pleaded guilty in May to serious bodily injury to the elderly by omission.

Under a deferred-adjudication probation sentence, Cupples will not have a conviction on her record if she successfully completes her probation.. After her 10-year-sentence, she can also file for a petition to seal the case from public view.

About a dozen of Cupples’ friends and family asked state District Judge George Gallagher to grant her probation.

“The detective and Medical Examiner personnel testified that this was one of the worst neglect cases that they had ever seen,” prosecutor Lisa Callaghan said in a statement.

“We would like to thank them for their exemplary work on this case, and make it clear to all persons in Tarrant County who would neglect and abuse the elderly that the [DA’s office] not tolerate such conduct and will prosecute these cases aggressively.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Euless woman gets probation for neglect of bedridden mother."