A Warsaw woman received a 20-year prison sentence after neglecting to properly care for her disabled son, who passed away as a result.
Lora Lynn Harris, 63, Warsaw, was charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a level 1 felony. A misdemeanor for failure to report human remains was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Harris was sentenced in Kosciusko Superior Court I on Thursday.
Kosciusko Superior Court I Judge Karin McGrath sentenced Harris to 25 years in the Indiana Department of Correction, with 20 years executed and five years suspended on probation.
She has 566 days, or about 1-1/2 years, of jail time credit.
"There are a hundred different adjectives I could use to describe this case ... sad, horrific, disgusting," said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Sobek at Harris' sentencing. "This individual couldn't care for himself and now he is no longer with us. What happened here is because of the malfeasance of someone else."
"What happened to Nathan (Harris' son) was a horrific tragedy," said defense attorney Austin Rovenstine.
Rovenstine said Harris has been pleasant to deal with and is still grieving the loss of her son.
"She loved her son and misses him dearly," said Rovenstine.
Harris did not provide a statement in court.
On Jan. 4, 2021, Warsaw Police officers responded to a death investigation. Officers spoke with Harris, who said her son, Nathan S. Wyman, 41, was deceased. It was immediately apparent Wyman had been dead for an extended amount of time.
According to court documents, Harris placed a blanket over Wyman's body prior to officers' arrival, but Wyman's legs and left arm were exposed and appeared to be extremely malnourished.
Harris told officers she resided with Wyman and a woman. She said Wyman was born blind with cataracts and was physically disabled, but was unable to provide a medical history.
When asked about the last time Harris saw Wyman alive, Harris gave several different answers, including Jan. 3, 2021, and Jan. 1, 2021.
Harris described herself as Wyman's caretaker. She told officers she last fed Wyman three days prior to his death and that she did not feed him every day. She told officers she fed him when he was hungry, and that when he did eat, he ate a lot.
In autopsy findings, it was determined Wyman's body length was about 5 feet and his body weighed 51 pounds. The doctor who conducted the autopsy listed Wyman's cause of death as cardiac arrhythmia due to probate dehydration with elevated sodium and renal failure. Wyman's death was contributed to by cerebral palsy and protein calorie malnutrition, with the manner of death listed as homicide.
During an interview with a Warsaw detective, Harris said she was discharged from a local hospital before Dec. 25, 2020. While she was in the hospital, Harris said the woman she resided with took care of Wyman. Upon further investigation, the detective learned Wyman was prescribed daily medications. When asked about the last time she gave Wyman medications, Harris said Jan. 1, 2021, before adding it may have been longer than that.
She acknowledged Wyman had not eaten in two or more days because she hadn't fed him.
Harris said Wyman received almost $800 in Supplemental Security Income a month and that she received almost $1,600 a month for the both of them. Harris told the detective she spent her son's money and would probably have to pay it back. She said she and Wyman had been living on his SSI money and food stamps, but that she recently qualified for her own SSI.
Upon searching Harris' phone, the detective found calls made to Dir St. Express, which Harris said she calls to determine if her and Wyman's social security benefits and stimulus payments had been direct deposited into her account. She said she last called the number at 1 a.m. Jan. 4, 2021, but the call log showed she called within an hour of contacting dispatch about Wyman's passing.