Booking photo of Abra McDonald. Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office.
Karen McDonald, 67, was left on the floor of her daughter’s home for several weeks and died just one day after she had finally received medical care in a hospital. Now, her daughter is facing multiple charges of neglect and abuse.
Abra McDonald, 49, was arrested for abusing and neglecting her 67-year-old mother in Kentucky this June but she was only indicted by the district attorney on Sept. 6 after a recommendation from a grand jury.
Records from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office show that upon McDonald’s arrest, she was charged with wanton endangerment in the first degree as well as two counts of knowing abuse of an adult. She remains in detention on $250,000 bond.
Pulaski County Detective Lieutenant Matt Bryant told area CBS affiliate WKYT that a medical report determined her mother’s main cause of death was sepsis brought on from the “substantial neglect” of being left on the floor for weeks at a time after a fall in the home.
The mother and daughter shared the residence.
“It is very sad and very troubling to understand,” Bryant said.
It is not clear why Abra left her mother for such a long time, authorities said.
She will appear in court next for her arraignment on Sept. 21.
In June, around the time McDonald was arrested for allegedly abusing and neglecting her mother, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear publicly heralded a call to action in the state to protect seniors from abuse while raising awareness about their plight. bThere are just under 800,000 seniors in Kentucky. According to NBC affiliate WLEX, the state’s Adult Protective Services Hotline reported an average of nearly 20,000 abuse or neglect complaints in 2022. Of those reported incidents, less than 8,000 turned into full-fledged investigations.
Beshear said at a press conference in June that nearly 1 in 10 people over age 60 have been abused, neglected or exploited in Kentucky.
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