Inset: Elizabeth Fike (Gates Funeral Home). Background: News footage of the conditions of the home where Elizabeth Fike died in October 2025 (KDKA).
A Pennsylvania woman who had been living with multiple sclerosis until her death last year was the victim of a homicide, the coroner said.
Elizabeth Fike, 44, died on Oct. 16, 2025, at her home in Uniontown, where she lived with her boyfriend, who also served as her caregiver.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker responded to their home and found Fike dead and surrounded by filth.
In an interview with local CBS affiliate KDKA at the time, Baker said the investigation determined that Fike “had not been out of her bed for over three months.”
On Thursday, Baker said Fike”s death was caused by neglect. He ruled her manner of death as homicide.
In Thursday’s update, Baker added that Fike had a “stage IV decubitus ulcer,” commonly known as a bedsore, and “urosepsis,” which can be caused when a urinary tract infection (UTI) spreads to the bloodstream.
When Baker spoke to KDKA in October 2025, he provided photos of the inside of the home where Fike lived with Tim Childs, her boyfriend and caregiver. Baker pointed out that while a new hospital bed, wheelchair, and commode were all found in the home, they were all unused. A bedpan with three-week-old bath water in it was next to a bed that was covered in filth.
Baker said at the time that an investigation would be conducted into Fike’s death due to the “deplorable conditions and severity of neglect in care.”
Childs spoke with local NBC affiliate WTAE shortly after Fike’s death and told the station, “I have cerebral palsy, and I did the best of my ability to do what I needed to do for her. When she had her meds, it was easy. I didn’t have a problem. She ran out of her meds, and it got tougher. I struggled.”
He added, “We had the meds on order, but they hadn’t come in.”
Childs would not comment on the home’s conditions due to the open investigation.
Childs has not been charged with any crime, nor has anyone else since the coroner released his ruling.
David Harris contributed to this report.
