Woman gets probation in boyfriend’s death by neglect

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina woman has been sentenced to five years of probation for fatally neglecting her boyfriend, who died several months after being taken to the hospital with bedsores, mold in his catheter and bug bites.

Multiple media outlets report Crystal Perdue, Rock Hill, pleaded guilty Friday to neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.

Perdue cried as she told the judge she loved Jonathan Earle but failed him. Earle had multiple health problems, including multiple sclerosis and diabetes. He was also blind. He died on his 41st birthday in September 2012.

“I loved him with all my heart,” Perdue said before being sentenced. “I was incapable of taking care of him.”

Prosecutor Erin Joyner said Perdue called 911 on May 23, 2012, after Earle began bleeding from his catheter. He arrived at the emergency room dehydrated and filthy. Joyner said Earle also had a urinary tract infection, and his blood-sugar level was so high, “it was unreadable.”

Detectives who went to their home said they had to wade through knee-deep trash. Crime scene investigators wore biohazard suits and masks.

Perdue’s defense attorney said her client suffered from depression and a troubled past that included her father being murdered and her ex-husband leaving her and their children after she confronted him about having another family.

Her attorney, Mindy Lipinski, said Earle’s health began deteriorating soon after they began dating. Lipinski said her client tried to tell Earle she couldn’t care for him on her own, but he didn’t want to be in a nursing home.

Perdue, a mother of two, faced up to 30 years in prison. Two counts of unlawful neglect of a child were dropped in exchange for her plea.

If she violates her probation, she faces 10 years in prison.

Rock Hill is about 27 miles south of Charlotte.

 

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