Published: December 01, 2007 12:09 am      

Couple charged with neglect of elderly

MEADOW BLUFF — Authorities say the discovery of a 95-year-old woman living in a snake-infested home filled with trash and dog feces led them to arrest a Greenbrier County couple Friday and charge them with eight misdemeanors, including elder abuse and neglect.

Cynthia Lee Backus, 51, and Dwight P. Backus Jr., 56, of Meadow Bluff, were each charged with neglect of elderly by a caregiver, operating an open dump, discharging raw sewage into a river, unlawful disposal of solid waste and four counts of unvaccinated animals, according to three separate criminal complaints filed by the Greenbrier County sheriff’s office, animal control and state Department of Environmental Protection.

Authorities were initially called to the one-story, cinder block house owned by 95-year-old Julia Judy, mother of Cynthia Backus, on Thursday to assist a home health care nurse who had seen Judy “lying on the floor of the residence, apparently unresponsive,” according to a complaint filed by sheriff’s Lt. D. Livingston.

With the front door locked, Livingston went to the rear of the home to gain entry, but found a large dog had been tied to the back door.

“This door was secured by a nylon leash attached to a large dog on the inside of the door,” Livingston wrote. “The door was held upright by a metal tool box and hinges attached to the house.”

Livingston cut the nylon leash and pushed open the door, which was also partly blocked by trash and debris, to find Judy “lying on the floor of a so-called bathroom,” according to the complaint. Another deputy and EMS officials also entered the home at that time.

Livingston said a coal stove which heated the home was not lit and he had to “step over trash, dog feces and junk to reach Ms. Judy.”

“Ms. Judy said she was hiding in the bathroom because it was warm and Dwight would be mad at her for the dogs getting out and for letting the stove go out,” Livingston wrote. Animal control officer Ginger Hedrick said four of the five dogs living at the home had not been vaccinated for rabies.

A state Department of Health and Human Resource worker called to the scene said the Backuses also lived at the home and were caring for Judy. County health department sanitarian Mike Eltzroth was called to the scene, according to Livingston, and “stated the house was condemned and unfit for habitation.”

When reached by phone Friday, Eltzroth called the home a “cesspool” and said its living conditions were “the worst I have seen in a long time.”

“The bathtub was filled with junk ... there was mold two feet up the walls ... and there were snakes in the attic,” Eltzroth said. “It looked like an abandoned building.”

DEP officials said the home’s water was contaminated and its open sewer flowed directly into the Meadow River, according to one complaint. They were called to the scene because of “the many jugs and containers of oil, anti-freeze and items in the yard,” Livingston wrote.

Junked cars were also parked in the home’s yard, which was littered with open trash bags and other debris.

Cynthia Backus later returned home and told police her mother “was able to move around and take care of herself.” She told Livingston her mother “takes a bath every day” and that she “slept on a couch.”

Meanwhile, EMS officials transported Judy to Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Fairlea for observation due to her condition, Livingston wrote.

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Cynthia and Dwight Backus were each released on $30,000 bond Friday after they were taken into custody at the office of Lewisburg lawyer Barry Bruce. Magistrate Brenda Campbell told the Backuses they were forbidden to live at the residence or take Judy back to the residence, which is located about three miles west of Sam Black Church.

Bruce said DHHR had not filed any complaints after visiting the residence twice in the last 30 days. He also said a doctor had recently given Judy a good bill of health and declared her competent.

“Ms. Judy did not come to the door initially because she was fearful of people coming to the house,” Bruce said Friday outside the magistrate’s office. “She told the doctor she did not want to leave the house. Was she abused? Unequivocally not.”

When reached by phone in her hospital room late Friday, Judy told The Register-Herald she “was in good condition” and would be leaving the hospital “in the next couple of days.”

If convicted of all charges, the Backuses face a maximum jail sentence of fours years and possible fines of more than $50,000 each. No hearings have been scheduled.

— E-mail:

cgiggenbach@register-herald.com