Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / March 2005

Family left woman's remains on kitchen floor for 2 years after death

BY KELLI PHILLIPS

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. - (KRT) - Kathleen Wilson lay on the kitchen floor
of her Fairfield, Calif., home for nearly two years after she died, her
son and husband stepping around the remains as they prepared meals and
went on with daily life.

Fairfield police discovered the corpse and arrested her son, Jack
Wilson, 48, Friday afternoon on suspicion of elder abuse. A concerned
neighbor had reported not seeing the elderly woman in about a year.

Jack Wilson told police his mother had fallen in the kitchen sometime
in mid-2003 and she had remained there ever since, said Fairfield
police Sgt. Mike Johnstone.

"He says he left her in the kitchen and tried to feed her and take care
of her for a couple weeks before she died," Johnstone said.

Jack Wilson has been cooperative with the investigation. Police said he
understood his mother was dead, but why he never tried to get her
medical attention or report her death remains unclear. "He didn't have
an answer for that," Johnstone said.

Jack's father, Harry Wilson, 81, was taken into the care of Adult
Protective Services. He returned home from a walk as officers were
arresting his son and asked where his wife was, Johnstone said.

A county social worker went to the Utah Street home for a welfare check
Friday after a neighbor anonymously called Solano County's Adult
Protective Services tip line. The social worker called police after
detecting a strange odor emanating from the residence, Johnstone said.

Police say the home was in disarray, littered with trash and cat feces
from family pets. Kathleen Wilson's clothed remains lay uncovered on
the kitchen floor.

"Harry and Jack lived there, they were at the house, they continued to
use the kitchen," Johnstone said.

Solano County Coroner's officials conducted an autopsy Monday, the
results of which were not released. Police and the district attorney
are waiting for the cause of death to determine whether additional
charges will be brought against Jack Wilson.

Peggy Osborn, program manager for the Attorney General's Office elder
abuse public awareness campaign, said cases like Kathleen Wilson's
shock the public, but happen more often than most people realize.

"One thing about elder abuse, neglect or isolation is that it thrives
on silence," she said. "What would have happened if someone had picked
up a phone a year ago?"

Osborn says many individuals don't report elder abuse because they
think they have to witness a violent act or injury such as a broken
arm, but that's not true. Individuals can anonymously report abuse or
concern for an elderly person by calling a toll free state hotline
1-888-436-3600.

"If someone had picked up a phone and said, `I haven't seen her in a
while,' that can save someone's life," Osborn said.