Disabled 19-year-old found dead in ‘padded stall,’ IN officials say. Mom charged
Two people in Indiana are facing charges after authorities say a 19-year-old woman was found dead and covered in feces.
Police were called on July 24 for reports of an unconscious woman, according to a July 25 news release from the Richmond Police Department.
When officers arrived, they found a 19-year-old woman dead, police say.
The woman’s mother and her mom’s boyfriend have since been charged with two counts each of neglect of a dependent, court records show. The charges come after officials described deplorable living conditions in the home, news outlets reported.
McClatchy News is not naming the couple to protect the identity of children who lived in the home.
Inside the home
When authorities went to the family’s home, they found cat urine, feces and piled-up garbage in multiple rooms, according to court documents, WXIN reported.
There was black mold in the refrigerator and no fresh food, authorities said, according to the outlet. One of the children in the home told officers the last thing they ate was a “hot sauce sandwich,” but they weren’t sure when, the outlet reported.
“I was wearing a mask on my face, but I still found it hard to breathe due to the strong smell of what I can only describe as garbage, feces and decomposition,” an officer wrote in court documents, according to the Richmond Palladium-Item.
Then officers found a “padded stall” with the woman dead inside, news outlets reported.
‘Padded stall’
When officers got to the woman’s bedroom, they found an area closed off with padded walls, “similar to a stall,” according to court documents, the Richmond Palladium-Item reported.
The woman was found dead inside what authorities referred to as a “padded stall,” covered in feces with about 12 used diapers around her, WXIN reported.
The mother’s boyfriend told police he found her dead in the morning when he went to give her medicine, according to the news outlet.
The woman’s mother said her daughter “was nonverbal, autistic, epileptic, wheelchair-bound and suffered from microcephalic disease, mitochondrial disease and Pitt-Hopkins syndrome,” WXIN reported.
The woman said her daughter had a seizure the night before she was found dead, the Richmond Palladium-Item reported.
The woman’s mother was given a $10,000 bond. Bond information wasn’t available for the mother’s boyfriend.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Disabled 19-year-old found dead in ‘padded stall,’ IN officials say. Mom charged."
