A man from Seattle has been arrested and faces felony charges after neglecting his 89-year-old mother so badly that she died. Lily Kinimoto was found dead outside the home she shared with her son, Lester L. Kunimoto.
The woman died back in October of 2011 and following an intense two years of investigations, King County prosecutors said that they have pinned elderly abuse charges on Lester Kinimoto – as well as second-degree criminal mistreatment.
Kunimoto was warned on a number of occasions not to leave his dementia-stricken mother alone. He now faces up to five years in jail and a fine of $10,000 if found guilty of the charges against him.
The man, aged 57, failed to attend to his mother’s needs. She was not taken to the doctor for at least two years, even though she was sick and required medical attention. He also refused state aid for “personal” reasons.
In response to his arrest, Kunimoto said that the local Department of Social and Health Services were “loan sharks” and he said he believed they would “take his house” if he agreed to accept financial aid from them .
The court documents showed that Kunimoto called 911 on October 29, 2011, after finding his mother dead outside the Seattle property. He told authorities that he had last seen his mother on the afternoon before she died. It actually turned out that Lily has previously suffered a stroke and required 24-hour care.
Detective Mark Jamieson from the Seattle Police Department said: “It’s a very classic case of neglect where a family member or caregiver was entrusted by the victim to take care of them and obviously failed the victim.”
Prosecutors said Lily had not been bathed in over five months, was suffering from deep bed sores, and was malnourished.
It remains to be seen what the court’s decision will be in this case, as prosecutors try to achieve the maximum sentence for the accused man.
