OKC Man Arrested After 'Common Law Wife' Found Living In Filthy Conditions

An investigation into a hit-and-run crash led officers to a neglected elderly woman living in filthy conditions in an Oklahoma City home. And her caretaker has been arrested for neglect and abuse. 

According to police, at about 10 p.m. Thursday, officers responded to the report of a possible abused elderly woman at a home in the 4100 block of S.W. 45th Street. Oklahoma City officers spoke with Del City officers, who said they originally came to this home to investigate an accident that had occurred in their city.

Del City officers said they spoke with the driver, 70-year-old Truman Troy Dodson, who drove away after crashing into a fire hydrant. During the investigation, they could smell human waste coming from inside the house. After obtaining verbal consent to check the house, Del City officers located an elderly woman exhibiting signs of neglect in the back bedroom. That’s when they contacted OKC officers.

According to police, the 62-year-old victim was lying on a bed. The entire bedroom had an overwhelming odor of stale urine and feces, and officers said they saw insects crawling on the floor.

Officers said they also found clothes stained with human waste, and the clothes the victim was wearing were also stained with dried and fresh urine and feces. The victim’s arms were covered in scabs and bruises and she had severe redness in her left eye. EMSA paramedics said the victim was very dehydrated and had dangerously low blood pressure.

Officers spoke with Dodson, who said he and the victim are “common law” husband and wife, and they have lived together for the past 20 years. He said no one else lives in this house, and he is responsible for the victim’s well-being.

A neighbor told police she checks on the victim every few days. She said the victim suffers from seizures and needs dialysis, but has not been able to get it.

Dodson was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County jail on complaints of abuse and neglect by caretaker and leaving the scene of a motor collision. He is being held on $5,500 bond.