Police: Mom tied ‘severely malnourished’ son to wheelchair for months

Denise Carrico, 62, was charged Monday with one count each of abuse and neglect, according to court documents.

Carrico is accused of leaving her son, who cannot walk and is nonverbal, tied to a wheelchair day and night for three months in their Las Vegas apartment, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department. Carrico was reported by a social worker who found the man “severely malnourished” with bruises and scabs on his face, police said.

Carrico changed her story multiple times, police said, stating she used a belt, string and rope to tie the man to the chair so he wouldn’t fall. She declined to answer questions as to why the man was confined to a 10-foot space.

During a July visit, social workers found the Siegel Suites apartment covered with roaches and the fridge turned off. Carrico said she received $700 in disability benefits on behalf of her son, she declined to tell investigators how she paid the rest of the bills.

“In 2018 and 2019 there has been several reports of possible neglect with Denise Carrico being the person of interest and her son being the victim,” police wrote in the report. “A few of the reports are from mandated reports who have concerns for (the man) being in an abusive environment.”

In 2016, Carrico was charged with abuse and domestic battery after she was accused of striking her son in a store. The charges were dismissed, according to court records.

Police said paramedics reported potential abuse in 2019 when they found the man wearing a trash bag as a diaper. The arrest report indicates Carrico was also charged with child abuse in 1993 in Arizona, but the charges were dismissed.

Carrico was released the day after her Aug. 12 arrest and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Jan. 18.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.