A Florida woman accused of neglecting her elderly father after he was found with severe wounds while confined to a recliner will serve probation rather than jail time.
Pamela Reynolds, 55, entered a no-contest plea Monday to neglect of an elderly or disabled adult, according to Law&Crime. She was sentenced to three years of probation, bringing the criminal case to a close about a year after her arrest.
Reynolds had been acting as her father’s caregiver at their Pensacola home when his condition prompted an emergency response in July 2025. According to the arrest report, she called 911 on July 31 after noticing that he had a “high heart rate.”
Medical workers transported the man to a hospital, where staff found multiple serious injuries. One wound on his right hip was described as “necrotic” and was reportedly infested with maggots. Police said they could still smell “decaying flesh” after the man had been treated, cleaned and admitted to the intensive care unit.
The father was “unable to move himself,” according to the arrest report. Once he was able to communicate with investigators, the man said, “he had been lying in the chair for several months.”
Reynolds told police she had not taken her father to a doctor since January 2025. She also said she had not moved him from the recliner since early June 2025 “because of transportation issues.”
Despite telling officers that she regularly bathed her father and provided him with food and medication, Reynolds maintained that “she did not see or was not aware” of his injuries.
Hospital staff described extensive wounds, including one that was “the size of a softball with black and yellow tissue, pus, and fluids coming out.” Medical workers also reported finding “maggots and feces” in the necrotic wound on his hip.
Authorities said the man had feces in his beard, on his fingernails and on his feet when he arrived for treatment. He also appeared to be severely malnourished, according to reporting based on the arrest documents.
Police said Reynolds cried while being interviewed. The arrest report said she acknowledged being her father’s sole caregiver and described his existing medical problems, which included diabetes and heart failure.
Reynolds was arrested in August 2025 and initially charged with neglect of an elderly or disabled adult causing great bodily harm. She was 54 at the time of her arrest.
Her no-contest plea allowed the court to enter a conviction without a formal admission of guilt. The court ordered three years of probation and did not impose a jail sentence.