Las Vegas man, woman found living in waste; relative arrested

A man was arrested after his mother and brother, both unable to care for themselves, were found living amid dog and human waste in a northwest valley house, court documents indicate.

“Immediately upon entering I could smell the overwhelming smell of dried urine and feces which covered the floor and walls,” a detective wrote in the Metropolitan Police Department arrest report for Edward Turley, 51.

Turley was the sole caretaker for his mother and brother, the report said.

Las Vegas police arrested Turley on July 2 on counts of elder neglect with substantial bodily harm and neglect of a vulnerable person. He was out of Clark County Detention Center on Saturday, records show.

The investigation began when an Elder Protective Services representative went to check on the mother about 11:15 a.m. May 24 after receiving notice of possible neglect, according to Metro. She showed up at the house on the 6800 block of Rio Sands Court, near Rainbow Boulevard and Ann Road, and did not enter the house because of the foul stench, the report said.

Police learned that his mother was twice hospitalized after she was found on the floor covered in waste, on May 24 and June 24.

Hospital staff noted that she was unable to walk to the bathroom on her own and had moisture-related wounds, the report said.

Turley would leave the house during the day to look for jobs, leaving his mother with his brother, who relied on Turley for epilepsy medication and “appeared to have the mental capacity of a small child,” police wrote.

Two days after the mother was hospitalized a second time, Metro detectives went to the house and spoke with Turley. Police learned that three malnourished dogs living in the house mostly defecated inside, and that Turley’s mother slept on a living room couch covered in human feces.

A Metro detective told Turley in a July 2 interview that he and crime scene analysts had to wear hazardous materials suits while processing Turley’s house.

Turley told police he has never helped his mother to the bathroom. Detectives asked why she was found on the floor and hospitalized twice, but Turley couldn’t give an answer, the report said.

The brother was placed on a 72-hour legal hold because of the living conditions and being unable to care for himself, the report said.

Turley told police he used his mother’s retirement checks to pay bills, the report said.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.