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Utah man charged with abuse for ‘horrendous’ living conditions that contributed to mother’s death

Posted at 1:15 PM, Apr 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-05 15:15:10-04

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah — A man is charged with aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult after authorities say he left his mother sitting in her own excrement for weeks leading up to her death.

Mackey Alexander Featherstone, 51, was charged with the second-degree felony on April 4.

Charging documents state his mother, Donna Featherstone, was transported to a hospital in January. Emergency responders noticed she was sitting in her own feces and urine, and the woman told them she had not been moved from the couch in two weeks.

Paramedics also noticed a bed sore on her leg, “that was almost the size of her entire right thigh.” One of those paramedics “felt compelled to to file a police report after observing the woman’s horrendous living conditions…”

The woman died the next day and her cause of death was ruled to be septic shock due to various illnesses and the necrotic wound on her leg.

Police interviewed the woman’s son, who told them he did everything for the victim—including shopping, preparing meals and seeing to her health and well being.

The man denied not moving his mother for two weeks and told officers he wasn’t aware of the hygiene issues, claiming he had the flu and couldn’t smell the excrement. The man also told officers, “he had personal problems with hygiene and that he couldn’t care for another person’s hygiene issues.”

A probable cause statement indicates the man told officers that during his bout of flu he had a case of the “f—- its” and didn’t make his mother’s care a priority.

Police also stated the victim’s daughter had previously tried to get her into a nursing home but said Mackey Featherstone threatened to kill himself if his mother was moved to such a facility.