Inset: Timothy Green (Center for Disability Rights). Background: The apartment building where police say Green’s mother allegedly starved him to death (Google Maps).
A Rochester, New York, woman and her boyfriend have been charged in the death of her 33-year-old developmentally disabled son, whom authorities allege was restrained inside their apartment and ultimately died from starvation and dehydration.
Andrea Livers, 58, and Lancysa Harris, 42, each face charges of second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person in connection with the death of Timothy Green, authorities announced.
The investigation began on Feb. 17, when Rochester Police Department officers were called to an apartment on St. Paul Street after a report of an unresponsive man.
First responders found Green naked on the floor, with bruises around his wrists and ankles, police said. He weighed roughly 88 pounds and showed signs of extreme malnourishment. Green was pronounced dead at the scene, Rochester police Capt. Frank Umbrino said during a Thursday news conference.
Livers and Harris were the people who placed the 911 call, according to investigators. But police said their initial account “made no sense,” and that both later declined to take part in additional interviews.
While an early autopsy did not determine a cause of death, the Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office later classified Green’s death as a homicide. Officials concluded that he died of “severe dehydration and failure to thrive in a setting of probable restraint.”
During a search of the apartment, detectives recovered handcuffs, barbells and other weights, along with what police called an “unusual amount of cleaning supplies.” Authorities also said they found no clothes, bedding or personal belongings connected to Green, despite the assertion that he lived there.
Security video from the 45 days leading up to Green’s death did not show him entering or leaving the building, investigators said. The footage reportedly showed only Livers and Harris coming and going from the residence.
Police believe Green died sometime between Jan. 19 and Feb. 17.
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The investigation also uncovered evidence concerning Green’s government benefits. Harris had become the designated payee for Green’s Social Security and SNAP benefits, which he received because of his developmental disabilities. Around that time, Green stopped attending medical appointments and other scheduled activities.
Police said SNAP benefits intended for Green were instead “used by Livers and Harris for their own benefit and not to feed him.” Federal authorities are investigating those allegations, meaning Livers and Harris may face additional charges.
Cellphone evidence also supported the medical examiner’s finding that Green had likely been restrained. Police allege he was held using handcuffs and home gym weights and was subjected to physical and mental abuse while being deprived of adequate food.
Umbrino described the circumstances during the news conference:
“How Timothy died is beyond disturbing, disgusting, and unfathomable to any normal person,” he said. “The evidence we gathered indicates that Timothy was physically restrained, to include with handcuffs and home gym weights. In addition to the physical and mental abuse, there was malnourishment, basically meaning they starved him to death.”
Green was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and spent most of his life there with his father and stepmother. Although he could physically care for himself, his developmental disabilities left him dependent on others for more complicated aspects of daily life.
His father had full custody but died in 2023. Green subsequently moved to Rochester to reconnect with Livers, his biological mother. Police said Livers had lost custody of him when he was “very young” because of “abuse-related issues.”
Livers and Harris are scheduled to appear in court Sept. 23.
The post Mom and boyfriend confined son with ‘handcuffs and home gym weights’ before starving him to death: Police first appeared on Law & Crime.