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Six months after a 58-year-old, bedridden man was found lying in his own filth and infected with bed sores that went "all the way to his bone," police arrested the man's son and his girlfriend, who were acting as his caretakers.
Steven Schaper needed constant care and was confined to his bed in his Des Moines, Iowa home, where that care was supposedly provided by son, Jacob Schaper, 24, and son's girlfriend Jocelyn Grisham, 23.
On Aug. 10, 2022, medical personnel who responded to an emergency call found the elder Schaper living in "deplorable conditions," according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Steven was lying in a urine- and feces-soaked bed and covered with bed sores infested by maggots, the court documents allege.
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Jacob Schaper, Steven Schaper's 24-year-old son, was acting as his father's caretaker while he was living in "deplorable conditions" and charged with second-degree murder in his father's death. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)
Steven was allegedly "skin and bones," and his "teeth were black and appeared to be rotting out," the criminal complaint says.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he later died, according to authorities.
The state medical examiner's office conducted an autopsy and ruled the cause of death as polymicrobial sepsis in the setting of a urinary tract infection, osteomyelitis, iliopsoas abscess, pneumonia and endocarditis.
Because of the house's conditions, police opened an investigation that ultimately led to Jacob and Grisham's arrests on Tuesday.
Jocelyn Grisham was charged in the death of Steven Schaper. (Polk County Sheriff's Office)
Steven needed continuous care and was not able to leave his bed, get food or bathe on his own, court documents say, and the couple were left as his caretakers.
They have been charged with murder and were accused of "intentionally or recklessly committing dependent adult abuse on the dependent adult which resulted in death," according to court documents.
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Jacob and Grisham are being held in Polk County jail without bond, inmate records show.
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