Son indicted after mother found unresponsive in Alabama home

A grand jury in Alabama has indicted a son in the death of his mother.

Jonathan Chad Simmons faces one count of manslaughter and one count of second-degree elder abuse, according to court documents from Tuscaloosa County. The records identify the victim as Brenda Hallman Simmons, 76. Deputies and medical crews answered a call on May 16 to the 13000 block of Alabama Highway 216, where they found Brenda Simmons alive but unresponsive. She died several days later in medical care. An autopsy attributed her death to sepsis arising from complications of multiple open bedsores.

Hospital staff told investigators that Simmons had open wounds and sores across her body and showed signs she had not been bathed. They reported finding feces and insects in her hair. The Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit and the state medical examiner's office opened a joint investigation after family members and health personnel raised concerns about neglect. A search warrant at the home Simmons shared with her adult son showed the residence "excessively dirty and unsanitary," investigators wrote.

Jonathan Simmons told investigators he served as his mother's custodian and caretaker. He acknowledged knowing about her medical problems, including open wounds and bedsores. "He stated that he had not taken her to a doctor in over a year," said Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit. The indictment accuses him of recklessly causing her death through abuse and neglect of an elderly person, and alleges that conduct caused serious physical injury.

Simmons is being held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail. His bond is set at $30,000.