In a harrowing case out of Colorado, a man will serve a decade in prison following the tragic death of his disabled mother, who was discovered in appalling conditions. Brian Seitz, aged 38, received his sentence on Monday after entering a guilty plea for the negligent death of a vulnerable individual back in September.

The grim discovery unfolded in late April 2024, when first responders were called to an Airbnb’s garage on Kendall Street, Arvada, a suburb of Denver. There they found 58-year-old Sheryl Seitz, Brian’s mother, lying on an air mattress in a dire state. Tragically, she succumbed to her suffering, passing away just a day later in the hospital.

Law enforcement officials, who arrested Seitz and his 55-year-old girlfriend Laura Prats in May 2024, revealed shocking details about Sheryl’s condition. The woman was reportedly “covered in filth and maggots” and presented with severe bed sores, fractured hips, a loosely attached wrist, ulcers, and septic shock, as documented by hospital staff.

Further investigation led authorities to a trailer at an RV storage lot on W. 56 Avenue, about two miles from where Seitz was initially found. The trailer lacked basic amenities such as running water and a proper bed, with only a space heater providing warmth, underscoring the neglect Sheryl endured in her final days.

Investigators went to the victim’s trailer, where there was no running water or a bed for her to sleep in. The only heat source was a space heater.

The two suspects had been Sheryl Seitz’s sole caregivers for six or seven years. Brian Seitz and his girlfriend received state funding from a home health care company to care for her for more than 80 hours a week.

An autopsy determined the manner of death was homicide caused by neglect from prolonged immobility due to rheumatoid arthritis and neck fractures.

Brian Seitz tried to explain away the neglect in an interview with local Fox affiliate KDVR. He said they had recently moved her from the RV park to the Airbnb to get her cleaned up. He claimed he tried to remove the maggots from her body, but she wouldn’t let him.

“We were we were trying to, but she wouldn’t allow us to take the blankets off of her after a certain amount of time she didn’t want us to touch her,” he told the TV station. “I didn’t tell her she had to do anything because that’s my mom.  She was of sound mind. I let her make her own choices. I offered to call an ambulance for her every day and I offered to get her help every day.”

Prats pleaded guilty to the same charge as her boyfriend and is slated to be sentenced on Dec. 23.