A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with abandoning her severely disabled son in the woods so she could visit her boyfriend in Maryland.
Nyia Parler was arrested in Maryland and will be extradited back to Pennsylvania for leaving her 21-year-old son–a quadriplegic who also suffers from cerebral palsy–lying in a bed of ?leaves and covered with a blanket next to his wheelchair and Bible before she left town, according to police. The disabled man was in the woods for at least a week.
Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detectives commented on the case, saying:
“She pushes him about 150 yards from the highway into the wooded area, takes him out of wheelchair, lays him on the ground, puts a blanket over him and leaves a Bible with him, and then just walks away.”
Walker added that the young man was exposed to the elements and also?”completely defenseless” against wild animals, with no food or water. He also remarked:
“It’s only by the grace of God that he survived this. Amazing.”
When Parker was contacted?in Maryland by administrators from the young man’s school who became concerned about his absence, she told relatives and authorities that he was with her in Maryland. Walker said the mother was quite obviously lying to cover her actions.
Ms. Parker is being charged with?aggravated assault, reckless endangering, neglect of a care-dependent person, kidnapping, unlawful restraint, and false imprisonment.
The disabled man was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for dehydration and malnutrition.
Detective Walker said the entire matter could have ended much more tragically than it did:
?This kid cannot defend himself, he cannot function at all. It could have been a lot worse than it is.?
