Inset: Teresa Marie Mills (North Charleston Police). Background: North Kentwood Drive in North Charleston, South Carolina, where Mills allegedly left her 90-year-old husband with dementia alone (Google Maps).
A South Carolina woman allegedly left her 90-year-old husband with dementia home alone while she enjoyed a Saturday night dinner with friends, causing him to fall.
Teresa Marie Mills is facing charges of vulnerable adult abuse and neglect. The North Charleston Police Department has documented these charges, highlighting the grave nature of the accusations against her.
Police were dispatched to a residence on North Kentwood Drive around 7:30 p.m. on a Sunday for a welfare check. Upon arrival, officers discovered the elderly victim seated on the porch alone. He appeared confused, was unable to effectively communicate, and bore evident injuries, including bleeding. Paramedics were summoned to provide immediate medical attention to the man.
Officers walked up to the home where they “detected a strong, overwhelming odor” even before they walked inside.
“Officers described the home”s living conditions as deplorable, reporting feces and urine stains throughout the residence and signs of rodent activity, including boxes and other belongings that appeared to have been chewed,” cops wrote.
Mills said her husband had fallen the day before when she left him alone in the home so she could have dinner with pals. But she never called 911 or contacted a doctor after she returned home and saw that he was injured, cops said.
She said a caregiver comes once a week to give her husband a bath.
Police placed the victim into emergency protective custody. Paramedics transported him to a hospital for treatment.
Officers arrested Mills and booked her into the Al Cannon Detention Center. She was not listed as an inmate at the jail as of Monday evening. Her next court date was not immediately listed.