A Louisiana woman was found dead in her home, and her stepson and his girlfriend are now facing felony charges. Justin Bueche, 43, and Heidi Trahan, 42, are being held in jail after being charged with cruelty to the elderly.
According to arrest documents obtained by WBRZ, police went to a home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday after receiving a report that a woman had died.
Police said a 74-year-old woman, later identified in the documents as Bueche’s stepmother, was found dead wearing only a red shirt and a soiled adult diaper. She allegedly had bedsores on her back so deep that her bones were exposed.
Bueche and Trahan had lived with the woman and served as her caregivers for the past five years, after she suffered a stroke and became partially bedridden.
According to the arrest report, Bueche told police his stepmother had been completely bedridden for two months before her death and could not move from the couch. He said that on Sept. 17, he called a local hospital to ask how to treat her bedsores. Police said that although he was told to take her to a hospital, neither he nor Trahan sought medical attention for her.
Trahan, Bueche’s girlfriend, told police she was the woman’s primary caregiver. The arrest report states that officers found the woman lying in human waste. Trahan allegedly told police that she and Bueche only changed the woman’s diapers “maybe once or twice a day.”
When police carried out a search warrant at the home, they said they found little food. They also reported finding animal waste on the floor of several rooms.
WAFB reported that an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of the woman’s death. Bueche and Trahan were arrested Friday and remain in custody. Their next court dates were not made publicly available.