Crime & Safety
Police: Glen Ellyn Man Left Elderly Mother to Die on Floor
The 64-year-old man is charged with criminal neglect for allegedly abandoning his 88-year-old mother for weeks while she lay dying in their shared home.
A 64-year-old Glen Ellyn man has been arrested and charged with criminal neglect of an elderly person after the death of his 88-year-old mother, who was found lying of the floor of their shared home on Jan. 16, dehydrated and emaciated, and died at a nearby hospital shortly afterwards, the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office announced Friday.
According to the State's Attorney, John Gault, 64, of the 400 block of Elm Street, Glen Ellyn, left his mother lying naked on her bedroom floor for "several weeks," during which time she developed severe pressure sores on her shoulders and tailbone, which eventually became infected and caused her death.
Paramedics responding to an emergency call found her there on Jan. 16 and brought her to the hospital, where she passed away. A warrant for Gault's arrest was issued on March 11, and he turned himself in on Friday morning.
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“The allegations against Mr. Gault are just horrendous,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a release. “Seniors deserve our care, respect and understanding. They do not deserve to be treated as alleged in this case, left to die on the floor of their home.
"I would like to thank the Glen Ellyn Police Department, particularly Detective Dave Scuito, for their efforts in this very disturbing case as well as Assistant State’s Attorney Diane Michalak for her work.”
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Gault is charged with two counts of criminal neglect of an elderly person, including a Class 2 felony which has a maximum prison sentence of seven years with the possibility of parole.
His next court date is April 15.
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