An obese, bed-ridden woman who was found last week living in a filthy Warren apartment died Monday at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital, according to police.
An autopsy is expected to be conducted today. Officials initially estimated her weight to be 500 pounds. Police continue to investigate.
"At some point, this lady should have been getting care that she did not get," on Monday said Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green, who did not release the 41-year-old woman's name. "There should have been some intervention way before this happened."
The woman's husband called 911 a week ago requesting help at their apartment off Gloede near 12 Mile Road. The woman was taken to St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital, where she died Monday morning.
Rescuers found the bedridden woman in filthy conditions, with maggots and bugs. Warren Fire Commissioner Skip McAdams said firefighters had to wear biohazard suits in order to get to the woman.
Investigators said her children, ages 13, 11 and 2-year-old twins, were in good condition. They were placed with an aunt who lives nearby.
Her family said the woman has been bedridden after her hip was crushed in early 2011 in a hit-and-run accident.
Her husband said Wednesday said he tried to take adequate care of her. Teary-eyed, he said that she was making her own medical decisions, talking by phone with her doctors, insisting she was o.k. He said he finally insisted on calling for help.
"I love her and it was hard, and it was just me," he said. "And I just did the best I could for so long."
He asked that the family not be identified to prevent ridicule of his older children.
Investigators had to take out the doorwall of the small, two-story brick apartment across 12 Mile from Macomb Community College's Warren Campus to remove the woman from her home. It remained sealed as Warren Police Detective Kevin Dailey continued his investigation, with the children's clothes and belongings locked inside.
"Their car seats, their winter coats," their father said Wednesday, desperation evident in his voice. He declined to talk more about the situation, which he said had become overwhelming.
Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green said police were working with Children's Protective Services and Adult Protective Services on the situation.
Copyright 2012 - Detroit Free Press
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
