Jailed for neglect of mother

MELBOURNE: A man wailed and groaned after he was unexpectedly jailed in Melbourne for the extreme neglect of his elderly mother, who died in squalid conditions.

The 52yearold man and his 46yearold de facto wife, who cannot be named for legal reasons, failed to properly care for his 83yearold mother, who died with bronchopneumonia on a rotten mattress in October 2013.

The epileptic woman had suffered a stroke and countless seizures, was wearing a soiled nappy that hadn’t been changed in a week and was covered in scabs.

A court hearing last year was told the man had bought a pair of earplugs from a hardware store to block out the sound of his mother screaming at night.

County Court of Victoria Judge John Carmody yesterday jailed the man for 18 months despite the prosecution and defence teams having asked for a noncustodial community corrections order.

Judge Carmody said the man was the primary decisionmaker in the household and still showed no remorse for his actions, blaming his borderline intellectually disabled partner for the events.

The pair had previously pleaded guilty to reckless conduct endangering life by failing to provide adequate aged care and medical attention.

The wife was receiving government payments as a carer after removing the the elderly woman from a nursing home, where she had been cared for properly.

She was given a 12month sentence, wholly suspended for two years.

‘‘To have her living in the squalid conditions was inhumane and severe neglect of a person who was old, frail and dependent on both of you,’’ Judge Carmody said.

The man wailed and yelled ‘‘oh no’’ as he was led out of the docks and into custody yesterday.

— AAP