Mother found dead in “deplorable conditions” with “dirty clothes and cockroach infestation,” father and daughter have accused

A MAN and his daughter have been arrested and charged with elder abuse after the man’s 72-year-old wife was found dead in the living room.

Walter Alfred Hawkins, 74, is also facing manslaughter charges, while he and his daughter Christy Lee Hawkins, 45, have been charged with neglect.

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Janice Ramsey Hawkins’ body was found at the home on March 16, while her husband and daughter were also present. The living conditions of the house prompted the police to investigate the crime scene.

Valley Police Chief Mike Reynolds said the living room was cluttered and full of roaches and stray animals.

“It was one of the most gruesome cases I’ve seen in my time,” Reynolds said.

He added that it’s obvious the cats found in the home weren’t using litter boxes.

“The smell of ammonia, the feces were on the floor, roaches all over this house and especially on the body itself.”

The husband and daughter were arrested over a month later in connection with her death. Janice’s husband was her caregiver who called the police the day she was found dead.

“Initially when he called 911, he didn’t ask for an ambulance or the police. He called the coroner,” Reynolds said.

It was later revealed from an autopsy report that Janice’s cause of death was ‘failure to thrive’ related to complications from diabetes.

The non-thriving part listed the following reasons, according to police: malnutrition, sunken eyes and protruding ribs, dehydration, which is shown by skin tenderness and miserable living conditions, dirty clothes and foul smell, and cockroach infestation.

“Our investigators determined that she has not seen a doctor since 2019. And none of her medications had been refilled since 2018,” Reynolds said.

“We have stayed at this residence on numerous occasions – I believe more than 40 times since 2014 and much of it was due to domestic violence.”

The husband and daughter were both taken to the Chambers County Detention Center awaiting bail hearings, the Valley Police Department said in a statement.

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