Police: Son Neglects Mother to Death in Squalid Home, Claims She Was ‘Stubborn

In a deeply unsettling case from Oklahoma, a man has been released on bond after being charged with the neglect-related death of his mother. Duane Valentine, aged 52, contacted authorities upon discovering his 70-year-old mother, Deborah Valentine, unresponsive in her bedroom on February 17. However, when officers from the Del City Police Department arrived, they were met with a horrifying scene: the elderly woman lay in a room filled with trash, overrun by rats, and surrounded by human waste.

During questioning, Duane Valentine reportedly informed the police that he last communicated with his mother approximately three days before finding her unresponsive. He claimed to have checked on her the following day, noting that she appeared to be sleeping. It was the day after this check that he realized she was not waking up, prompting his call to law enforcement.

The grim reality of the situation was captured by the Del City Police Department’s body camera footage, which has since been obtained by Law&Crime. The footage reveals officers navigating through a home overwhelmed with debris. According to a report from local NBC affiliate KFOR, the police documented that Deborah Valentine’s bed was engulfed in about two feet of trash and surrounded by vermin. Additionally, human waste was discovered on various items scattered throughout the home.

An officer on the scene was captured on video remarking to a colleague, “There’s, like, 20 rats eating on this lady,” illustrating the appalling conditions under which the victim was found.

One officer can be heard telling another officer, “There”s, like, 20 rats eating on this lady.”

The discovery led officers to suspect Deborah Valentine had been dead longer than her son claimed. When officers questioned Duane Valentine, he allegedly said he had lived in his mother’s home for the past nine years and served as her caretaker. He said his mother became bedridden two or three months earlier, and fell ill the Thursday before he found her unresponsive.

Duane Valentine allegedly told the officers, “Like I said, she’s been really sick, and she’s just been sleeping.”

One officer said to another officer at the scene, “She’s, like, sunk into the bed, a mouse was eating on her face when I came in.”

Family members eventually arrived at the scene and asked him why he had never called them. He claimed, “I didn’t know, bud. I didn’t. I didn’t think she was gone.”

At the station, Duane Valentine told an officer, “I didn’t kill my mother, alright? My mother was stubborn, didn’t like to be messed with when she sleeps.”

Duane Valentine was eventually charged with second-degree murder and abuse by a caretaker. Police also confirmed that the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation was looking into suspicions of financial abuse by Duane Valentine. After being booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center, Duane Valentine was released with conditions after posting $50,000 bond. He is currently not in custody but is wearing a GPS monitor. His arraignment is scheduled for March 19.