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Praise Jesus she had the right idea. Why she waited 21 years to rid herself of the gimp she gave birth to is beyond me.
Mother abandoned severely disabled son, 21, in woods five days ago to go see boyfriend
He was abandoned under a blanket in the woods. A Bible lay on his chest.
And he had been in that position for five days.
The 21-year-old man, a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, was found Friday night in Cobbs Creek Park, when a man walking through the woods off stumbled across him and called 911.
The disabled man's mother had dumped him there sometime before 10 a.m. Monday morning, police said, when she boarded a bus to visit her boyfriend in Maryland.
Her son was left on a pile of leaves, through rain and temperatures that plunged into the high 30s. He was alone and helpless, police said, with neither food nor water, until his discovery.
On Saturday, he remained hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was being treated for malnutrition and dehydration. Charges were pending against his mother, whose name was not released. Police said at a news conference that they planned to begin a larger investigation into the care and living conditions of the young man, who is nonverbal and severely impaired.
"This kid's obviously a fighter," said Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker. "It's just unbelievable how we found him out there. . . . It's absolutely heartbreaking to see (that) another human, especially your mother, can treat someone like that."
Relatives last saw the 41-year-old mother on the evening of Easter Sunday, police said.
When her son did not arrive for classes at School of the Future in West Philadelphia on Monday, school officials attempted to call the woman. They also reached two of her sisters, and one of them contacted police.
The mother told her sisters and a police officer that her son was in Maryland with her and her boyfriend, Walker said.
But around sunset Friday, a man was taking a walk along a Cobbs Creek Park trail when he spotted a wheelchair. Stepping off the path, he came upon the disabled man lying nearby.
As officials responded to the 911 call, Walker said one of the man's aunts arrived because she had gotten word that her nephew might have been the man left in the woods. She identified him and asked authorities to transport him to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he had received treatment in the past.
Walker, who visited the man and his family in the hospital on Saturday, said his condition has stabilized. He had a cut on his back that was at risk of infection, Walker said, and his time in the rain and cold weather may have damaged his eyes.
Relatives were at the hospital with him, including two aunts who Walker said had tried to obtain guardianship of the man in the past few years.
The mother lived in a rowhouse on Baltimore Avenue near the park where the man was abandoned, police said. She also has another 16-year-old child, who has been staying with an aunt.
No one answered the door at the home Saturday afternoon.
One neighbor said she did not know the family, but had often seen the young man, sitting in his wheelchair on the sidewalk.
"If it was nice out they would be sitting outside," said the woman, who declined to give her name.
On Saturday, police said the mother remained with her boyfriend in Montgomery County, Md., where local authorities were assisting in the investigation and were prepared to make an arrest.
The mother has "clear criminal liability in this case," Walker said, and the pending charges include aggravated assault.
Police have also contacted the Department of Human Services and Adult Protective Services.
"There'll be a longer term portion of this investigation to see what happened here as far as this kid and the care that's been provided to him for basically his entire life," Walker said.
One immediate concern, Walker noted, was that the family's home had no ramp for a wheelchair.
He added that there was no reason for the man to suffer neglect, because other relatives had tried to care for him.
"You had family members who were willing to help out with the care of this child," Walker said.
He said the young man was fortunate to be alive.
"This kid cannot defend himself," Walker said. "He does not function at all. It could have been a lot worse than it is."
He was abandoned under a blanket in the woods. A Bible lay on his chest.
And he had been in that position for five days.
The 21-year-old man, a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, was found Friday night in Cobbs Creek Park, when a man walking through the woods off stumbled across him and called 911.
The disabled man's mother had dumped him there sometime before 10 a.m. Monday morning, police said, when she boarded a bus to visit her boyfriend in Maryland.
Her son was left on a pile of leaves, through rain and temperatures that plunged into the high 30s. He was alone and helpless, police said, with neither food nor water, until his discovery.
On Saturday, he remained hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was being treated for malnutrition and dehydration. Charges were pending against his mother, whose name was not released. Police said at a news conference that they planned to begin a larger investigation into the care and living conditions of the young man, who is nonverbal and severely impaired.
"This kid's obviously a fighter," said Philadelphia police Lt. John Walker. "It's just unbelievable how we found him out there. . . . It's absolutely heartbreaking to see (that) another human, especially your mother, can treat someone like that."
Relatives last saw the 41-year-old mother on the evening of Easter Sunday, police said.
When her son did not arrive for classes at School of the Future in West Philadelphia on Monday, school officials attempted to call the woman. They also reached two of her sisters, and one of them contacted police.
The mother told her sisters and a police officer that her son was in Maryland with her and her boyfriend, Walker said.
But around sunset Friday, a man was taking a walk along a Cobbs Creek Park trail when he spotted a wheelchair. Stepping off the path, he came upon the disabled man lying nearby.
As officials responded to the 911 call, Walker said one of the man's aunts arrived because she had gotten word that her nephew might have been the man left in the woods. She identified him and asked authorities to transport him to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he had received treatment in the past.
Walker, who visited the man and his family in the hospital on Saturday, said his condition has stabilized. He had a cut on his back that was at risk of infection, Walker said, and his time in the rain and cold weather may have damaged his eyes.
Relatives were at the hospital with him, including two aunts who Walker said had tried to obtain guardianship of the man in the past few years.
The mother lived in a rowhouse on Baltimore Avenue near the park where the man was abandoned, police said. She also has another 16-year-old child, who has been staying with an aunt.
No one answered the door at the home Saturday afternoon.
One neighbor said she did not know the family, but had often seen the young man, sitting in his wheelchair on the sidewalk.
"If it was nice out they would be sitting outside," said the woman, who declined to give her name.
On Saturday, police said the mother remained with her boyfriend in Montgomery County, Md., where local authorities were assisting in the investigation and were prepared to make an arrest.
The mother has "clear criminal liability in this case," Walker said, and the pending charges include aggravated assault.
Police have also contacted the Department of Human Services and Adult Protective Services.
"There'll be a longer term portion of this investigation to see what happened here as far as this kid and the care that's been provided to him for basically his entire life," Walker said.
One immediate concern, Walker noted, was that the family's home had no ramp for a wheelchair.
He added that there was no reason for the man to suffer neglect, because other relatives had tried to care for him.
"You had family members who were willing to help out with the care of this child," Walker said.
He said the young man was fortunate to be alive.
"This kid cannot defend himself," Walker said. "He does not function at all. It could have been a lot worse than it is."
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