Janice Hawkins: Alabama mom found dead in ROACH-INFESTED room, husband and daughter arrested
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT
VALLEY, ALABAMA: A man and his daughter have been detained for alleged elder abuse after a 72-year-old was found dead in distressing conditions. Authorities have reported about Janice Hawkins, 72, in southeast Alabama who was horribly mistreated and lived in deplorable conditions, and her husband and daughter have been accused of her death. Hawkins was found lying in filth, surrounded by dung and urine, and covered with cockroaches eating on her skin, according to police.
Hawkins' death was probed when her husband, Walter Hawkins, 74, phoned the police on March 16 to request a coroner visit their house on 24th Avenue in Valley. Walter clashed with officers by over-responding, according to Chief Mike Reynolds. Reynolds said, “He wanted to argue when our officers arrived, saying he didn’t need police; he needed the coroner. So we explained this was our protocol to him.”
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According to WTVM-TV, when cops entered the house, Reynolds said they immediately contacted the District Attorney's Office. An autopsy was requested when an assistant district attorney arrived on the scene. “Immediately, they knew something wasn’t right. The home was very filthy, with feces and cat urine, cockroaches all over the place, and they had to make a trail to get to her. Even when they took her to the medical examiner’s office when they began prepping her for an autopsy, cockroaches were coming out of her clothing at the ME’s office,” Reynolds added.
Hawkins was very malnourished, dehydrated, and died in awful living circumstances and soiled clothes, according to the autopsy report released on May 4. Her death was attributed to a failure to survive, which was linked to diabetic problems. Reynolds said, “She weighed less than 100 pounds at the time of her death, her eyes sunk in, prominent ribs, and severely dehydrated. Our investigators kept digging and found out the last time she had been to a doctor was in 2019. Her prescriptions, of which she had been prescribed nine medications, had not been refilled since 2018.”
Janice Hawkins of Valley had not been seen by a doctor since 2019 and none of her nine prescription medications had been refilled since 2018.
— AL.com (@aldotcom) May 18, 2022
She was found dead in her home in March, and authorities say she showed signs of suffering from severe neglect. https://t.co/y9QPDNOlKd
Hawkins' 45-year-old daughter, Christy Lee Hawkins, who lived with her parents, is also facing charges of elder abuse and neglect. Walter Hawkins is accused of manslaughter, elder abuse, and neglect. “Since 2014, we have answered over 40 calls to that residence, with the majority being domestic violence. As a result, he has been arrested several times for domestic violence,” Reynolds claimed. The father and daughter are still in custody awaiting a bail hearing. Meanwhile, investigators have declared the property a biohazard. As a result, the city of Valley is condemning the house so that it may be demolished.