Michael Brooks has been charged with abuse in connection to his wife’s death. Yolanda Reese-Brooks was rushed to the hospital on October 16. Emergency crews had to extract the morbidly obese woman from her apartment, but not before they were armored in hazardous material suits. Seems a little extreme right? Well not really. Reese-Brooks, 40, was lying in filth, covered in her own waste and maggots when they arrived.
Brooks became his wife’s primary caregiver after she sustained a crushed pelvis and ruptured her bladder in a 2011 car accident, leaving her bedridden.
Talk about ‘for better or worse, in sickness and health.’
Police said the home was uninhabitable and was infested with insects.
Their four children, ages 13, 11 and 2-year-old twins, were also being neglected. There were no beds or mattresses for them to sleep on and the refrigerator contained spoiled meat, only. They have been placed temporarily with their maternal aunt, Reese-Brooks’ sister.
On Oct. 22, she passed away. Brooks is being charged with second-degree abuse of a vulnerable adult, which is a felony, following an admission of allowing her to lie in her waste for eight or nine days. He is out on a $10,000 bond and is facing up to four years in jail. His next scheduled court date is Nov. 15. –yvette caslin
