Left to right: Tamara Eaton and Michael Tinsley (Vanderburgh County Sheriff”s Office).
An Indiana man and woman are accused of allowing his brother to rot in a filthy home until blankets were stuck to wounds on his feet.
Tamara Eaton, 47, and Michael Tinsley, 39, have both been charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. Tinsley also faces a charge of possession of marijuana with a prior drug conviction.
On Sunday, the defendants were with Tinsley’s brother at a home on West Missouri Street in Evansville, a city in the southern part of the state hugging the border with Kentucky. They were caring for the man — who has autism — because his mother had recently died.
The man’s sister had called authorities from outside the state because she was worried about him, regional NBC affiliate WFIE reported. When officers got there, they said Eaton wouldn’t let them in as she said adult protective services workers were already there. Police left.
Days later, an employee with a medical device company reportedly called law enforcement to report that the home was unsafe. Officers returned and said no one answered the door until they threatened to force it open.
When they got inside, officers said they found the brother on the couch — with a blanket that was covering his legs stuck to multiple wounds on his feet.
The victim also had a burn on his arm and shown signs of malnutrition, according to authorities.
The home was visibly filthy, police said, with the floor caving in and the water shut off, according to the local outlet. The fridge was barren and the entire residence reeked of decay.
The victim was taken to the hospital, and Eaton and Tinsley were arrested and thrown in jail.
They are expected to have their first hearing in court on Tuesday.
