A Montco man, jailed for killing his wife over their cat’s vet bills, was denied lifesaving care, suit says
Barton Seltmann was charged with killing his wife after an argument over their cat's veterinary bills but never went to trial because of dementia and other health problems.
The family of a Lower Pottsgrove Township man who was accused of beating his wife to death over the mounting cost of their cat’s veterinary care is suing Montgomery County and two medical companies, saying they denied him crucial healthcare while in the county jail, leading to his untimely death.
Barton Seltmann, 84, died in April 2024 from urosepsis from “an undiagnosed and untreated urinary tract infection,” according to the wrongful-death lawsuit, which was filed last week in federal court in Philadelphia.
A neck fracture that Seltmann sustained after falling in his jail cell also contributed to his death, the filing said.
The suit names the county, as well as PrimeCare Medical and Creative Health Services, two companies contracted to provide medical care to inmates at the jail.
Neither company responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners said the county does not comment on pending litigation.
Seltmann was charged with murder and related crimes in November 2023 after, prosecutors said, he killed his wife, Margaret, during a dispute over the cost of their cat’s medical bills.
In interviews after the incident, Seltmann, an Army veteran and former West Pottsgrove Township police officer, seemed to believe his wife was still alive, according to court filings. He did not grasp the reality of the incident and showed early signs of dementia.
A month before his death, a Montgomery County judge dismissed the case against Seltmann, ruling that he was not fit to stand trial because his mental-health faculties and physical condition had deteriorated so significantly.
But Patrick Duffy, the lawyer representing Seltmann’s children, wrote in the lawsuit that Seltmann’s marked decline in health came only while he was incarcerated.
“Despite the obvious signs and symptoms indicating worsening progression of his condition, Mr. Seltmann was denied adequate medical care and intervention which allowed his condition … to develop into a state where it was irreversible and no further care could prevent his death,” Duffy said.
The lawsuit asserts that jail staff did not allow Seltmann’s children to visit him due to the seriousness of the charges he faced at the time, which prevented his deteriorating health from being addressed sooner.
Staff at the prison, including medical providers from PrimeCare and Creative Health Services, made a “calculated decision” to delay providing Seltmann with more intensive treatment in hopes he would soon be transferred to Norristown State Hospital, the suit contends.
During intake at the jail, Seltmann appeared healthy, but by the end of his six weeks there, the lawsuit said, he was struggling to communicate, with “rambling and incoherent speech” and issues focusing.
Seltmann developed a fungal rash on his groin and injuries to his feet and legs that later made it difficult for him to walk, causing him to fall and injure his head.
In the suit, Duffy alleges that these issues were visible to, and known by, staff at the jail, but they refused to make a referral for him for outside care until his body temperature dropped to 86.5 degrees and he was retaining urine.
When Seltmann was taken to Einstein Montgomery Hospital on Jan. 11, 2024, doctors found he had an acute neck fracture from his previous falls at the jail.
He was later transferred to Jefferson Einstein Hospital in Olney, where he died months later.