A Pennsylvania woman faces a prison term of up to eight years after neglecting her wheelchair-bound mother, resulting in the mother’s death from sepsis due to prolonged exposure to her own waste.

Colleen Sayegh, aged 38, admitted guilt on Tuesday to charges of first-degree felony negligence in the care of a dependent. Consequently, she received a sentence ranging from 15 months to eight years, as stated by Blair County Prosecutor Peter Weeks to Law&Crime. The dire situation came to light following a 911 call on July 19, 2022, when the victim was found with stubborn sores, as detailed in a probable cause affidavit.

Authorities discovered the woman in a residence located on the 300 block of Mill Hill Road in Woodbury Township, barely conscious. The victim had multiple open wounds, including a notably large one the size of a fist on her backside, according to the complaint. She was suffering from dehydration and alarmingly low blood pressure. The report indicated she had numerous foul-smelling open wounds on her right side, suggesting she had not been moved for some time. Paramedics observed that her pajama gown and diaper were heavily soiled with feces and urine.

Tragically, she passed away on July 21, 2022.

Authorities revealed that the woman became reliant on a wheelchair and experienced right-side weakness following a stroke in February 2021.

Investigators conducted a search of the home and found it to be in “deplorable conditions with animal feces covering the floor and a foul odor,” cops wrote.

Troopers with the Pennsylvania State Police interviewed Sayegh, who said her mother was in a nursing home for about three months after her stroke but “insisted” on coming home. She said she felt as if she had her mother”s situation under control and would take shifts with others caring for her. Sayegh claimed the sores on the victim’s backside were about a week old and were healing, but the medical examiner opined they were older. She tried to treat the sores but they seemed to be getting worse and her mother began “wailing” in pain and unable to communicate other than answering “yes” or “no” questions.

Sayegh admitted that she had not bathed her mother, who also suffered from diabetes, in months and had not taken her to a doctor in over a year.

An autopsy determined the victim died of sepsis that was caused by a skin infection, likely coming from the feces and urine she was lying in, the complaint said. Had Sayegh bathed her mom and washed off the urine and feces, her chances of survival would have been much higher, the medical examiner stated.

At her sentencing, Sayegh told a judge her mother “kept refusing treatment,” a courtroom report by the Altoona Mirror said. Judge Jackie Atherton Bernard admonished the defendant, saying “we don’t even treat animals like this.”

“Your actions are selfish,” Bernard reportedly said. “You chose to take care of yourself and your own medical needs while you left your mother to rot.”

Added Weeks in a statement: “This prosecution would not have been possible without the investigative efforts of the Pennsylvania State Police and the cooperation provided by Blair Senior Services, Inc., the paramedics, and the decedent’s treating doctors and nurses. While nothing can erase the suffering of the decedent [due] to the neglect of her care, we are grateful for everyone’s efforts to hold the defendant accountable.”