Man charged after police found his mother ‘fused’ to a soiled bed in filthy Delco house
Daniel Klein, 51, was charged after police said they found his 81-year-old mother unconscious and partially covered with maggots in their Upper Chichester house.
A 51-year-old man was charged with felony neglect and reckless endangerment after police found his 81-year-old mother unconscious and “fused” to a soiled bed in a filthy, trash-filled house in Delaware County, police said Monday.
Daniel Klein was being held at the George Hill Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail. No lawyer was listed for Klein in court records.
On Sunday about 12:20 p.m., Upper Chichester Township police were dispatched to Dresner Circle where they were met by a man who had requested a well-being check on his neighbors.
The man said he had not seen Klein nor Klein’s mother in months and unsuccessfully tried contacting them, according to the police criminal complaint. He pointed out that delivery packages had piled up at the front door. He also reported that he had a cockroach problem in his own house, presumably coming from his neighbors’ home.
Police said they saw numerous packages and white plastic bags containing unopened food items at Klein’s front door, but no one answered when they knocked and rang the bell.
Police then checked the rear sliding-glass door and could see a large amount of trash inside and numerous flies, the police complaint said. Believing there was a possible emergency inside, they forced their way into the house.
The officers encountered Klein inside and told them why they were there. They also noticed a foul odor in the house, the complaint said.
Klein escorted the officers to the rear main bedroom, where he said his mother was sleeping, the complaint said.
Police called for an ambulance after seeing Klein’s mother unconscious but breathing. Klein told the officers that he was the sole caretaker for his mother, and that she had not been out of the bed for three or four weeks, the complaint said.
Police said his mother was covered by a soiled blanket, and after paramedics removed the blanket the officers could see that the woman’s lower body was covered in dried feces and maggots and that she had what police called “ram’s horn” toenails, the complaint said.
The paramedics evaluated the mother “and observed her to be fused to the bed,” the complaint said. Once paramedics were able to remove her from the bed, police said, she appeared to be “fused to the bed sheets.”
Klein’s mother was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center for evaluation and treatment, the complaint said. Klein also was taken to the hospital.
Klein was arraigned that night, and his next court date is scheduled for April 25.
Staff writer Vinny Vella contributed to this article.