JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A man and his girlfriend were arrested for crimes against his at-risk mother after she was found this week in Jefferson County with bed sores, hip fractures and maggots burrowing into her body.
On Monday, the Arvada Fire Department responded to a report of a sick person at a rental property along the 6400 block of Kendall Street. Paramedics at the scene found a 58-year-old disabled woman on an air mattress in the garage. She was "covered in filth and maggots," according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, which took over the investigation a couple days later.
The woman was later identified as Sheryl Seitz, 58. She was transported to a hospital, where she died on Tuesday. Based on hospital documentation, Sheryl Seitz suffered from bed sores, two hip fractures, a "loosely connected wrist," ulcers, septic shock and maggots burrowing into her body, the sheriff's office said.
Her official cause and manner of death will come from the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.
Arvada police continued to investigate and learned the related crimes likely happened at a RV storage lot along the 5800 block of W. 56th Avenue in unincorporated Jefferson County.
Investigators determined Sheryl Seitz and the two suspects in this case separately lived at the RV storage lot. The suspects were identified as the victim’s son Brian Seitz, 36, and his girlfriend Laura Prats, 53.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Sheryl Seitz's RV, as well as both the car the suspects used and the trailer where they lived. They found that Sheryl Seitz's RV did not have running water or a bed.
Based on the investigation, authorities learned that Sheryl Seitz's health was declining and she needed somebody to help care for her. Brian Seitz and Prats stepped in as caregivers and had remained in that capacity for about six or seven years, the sheriff's office said. They both received state funding for the woman's care through a home healthcare company for 83 hours a week.
Brian Seitz and Prats were arrested on May 1 on charges of crimes against an at-risk person resulting in death, as well as crimes against an at-risk person resulting in serious bodily injury. Brian Seitz faces an additional charge of tampering with physical evidence.
The suspects appeared in court on Thursday morning.
This case remains under investigation and no other information was available as of noon Thursday.
