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Inset: Linda Oeding (Kingman County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Main Street in rural Spivey, Kan. (Google Maps).
A 71-year-old woman from Kansas has been sentenced to prison following a tragic case of prolonged abuse and neglect that led to the death of her 94-year-old mother.
Linda Oeding, aged 71, admitted to two charges of elder mistreatment earlier this year, as reported by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. This mistreatment tragically culminated in the passing of her mother, Betty Oeding, who was 94 at the time of her death.
In a recent court ruling, Linda Oeding was handed a 32-month prison sentence for abuse and an additional eight months for neglect. The court decreed that these sentences would run consecutively, amounting to a total of 40 months behind bars.
“Our elders in Kansas deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, particularly by those trusted with their care,” stated Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. “We are committed to ensuring that those who mistreat or neglect vulnerable individuals are held responsible for their actions.”
According to documents obtained by the Junction City Post, Linda Oeding had taken on the role of her mother’s caregiver, presenting herself as the sole person available for the task.
Additionally, Linda Oeding prevented other family members from contacting her mother — preventing them from visiting or checking on the victim as she deteriorated under the defendant’s watch.
The woman’s poor treatment came to a head last year, according to a press release issued by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
On Sept. 5, 2025, the defendant called emergency services to report that her mother had become unresponsive at the family’s home in Spivey, a tiny town located some 50 miles southwest of Wichita.
The defendant even turned down first responders who offered a variety of medical care for the victim, according to court records. Such treatment included transport to the nearest hospital, IV fluids, medications, and lifesaving resuscitation, authorities said.
“When EMS arrived, they observed Betty was experiencing malnourishment and improper living conditions, and recommended she be transported to a nearby hospital,” the press release explains. “Linda declined and insisted her mother be transported to [Hutchinson Regional Medical Center].”
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center was located nearly an hour away, the attorney general’s office noted in its own press release on the sentencing.
After the victim was transported to the regional hospital, she developed sepsis linked to her condition and living environment, according to law enforcement. Betty Oeding was discovered in a “shocking state” and said to be “severely emaciated, covered in advanced, infected pressure sores from prolonged immobility, and unwashed after extended neglect,” according to the AG’s office.
Five days later, the defendant’s mother died in hospice care.
On Sept. 11, 2025, the Kingman County Sheriff’s Office asked state investigators to step in after deputies “observed signs of neglect.”
On Sept. 12, 2025, Linda Oeding was arrested and booked on a broader array of relatively higher charges including murder in the first degree, mistreatment of a dependent adult or elder person, abuse and neglect, and interfering with medical care.
The plea deal resulted in the state dropping most of the charges.
“Unfortunately, elder neglect often goes unnoticed and unreported — we are so grateful for the medical professionals and law enforcement teams in this case who took immediate action to care for the elder victim and document the mistreatment,” Deputy Attorney General Jessica Domme, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement.