A former school nurse, Marylou Dewitt, 53, is now facing multiple charges for the severe abuse inflicted upon her 22-year-old adopted daughter with special needs.
Authorities claim that Dewitt allegedly subjected her daughter to a horrifying ordeal, chaining her by the neck, waist, and hands to a bed frame for a period of five days. During this time, the child was reportedly left in unsanitary conditions, surrounded by her own waste.
Dewitt is facing a range of charges, including neglect and endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, and tampering with evidence, according to court records.
An unsettling discovery was made in the early hours of Wednesday when the victim’s sister arrived home from the store around 12:30 a.m.
Desperate screams echoed from an upstairs bedroom in their residence on Stauffer Street. A shocking discovery: a sister finds her adopted sibling bound to a bed, surviving solely on sandwiches.
A lunch box contained the keys to the chains and handcuffs, allowing her to liberate her sister before returning the restraints to their storage.
As per an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, when Dewitt came back to the house, she made an effort to tidy up the area by putting the mattress back on the bed and taking hold of the lunch box containing the restraints.
Nevertheless, her daughter bravely confronted her, putting a stop to any further tampering with the evidence. Dewitt quickly left the house with the lunch box.
The victim shared video footage and photos that vividly depicted her situation with the authorities.
Disturbing images emerged, revealing the shocking sight of her restrained to a wooden bed frame, with a chain tightly encircling her neck, and a pink T-shirt providing minimal comfort.
Additionally, she was secured at the hips using a bike chain. According to the affidavit, her face appeared swollen and she had a bruise on her right leg.
The room had a strong smell of urine and body odor, with the mattress and bedding stacked against the wall. The headboard showed signs of wear from being used for restraints.
A victim has come forward with a disturbing account of being chained to a bed and forced to relieve herself in an unfortunate incident.
She had to make do with sandwiches stored in Ziploc bags, and she was denied access to water. Surprisingly, she disclosed that she had been denied the opportunity to shower since February or maintain oral hygiene.
Without access to her medication, her health was in serious jeopardy due to her diagnoses of bipolar disorder and ADHD.
Throughout this situation, Dewitt managed to avoid capture, fully aware of the presence of law enforcement at the residence but steadfastly refusing to come back.
She sent distressing messages to her family members, leading to a police intervention involving phone negotiations.
Finally, officials were able to locate her by tracing the signals from her cell-phone in the Pittsburgh region. Following a thrilling chase, she was captured and placed under arrest.
“The mother appeared to be experiencing a possible mental episode,” Trooper Rocco Gagliardi commented, according to the Observer-Reporter. She eventually came to a halt after a while.
Dewitt is currently being held at the Fayette County Jail without bond. The preliminary hearing has been set for June 12.