Defendant’s son says allegations are untrue, grandmother is fine
by: Shay Arthur
Posted: 06/30/2021 / 7:22 am CDT
Updated: 6/30/2021 / 6:14 PM CDT
MEMPHIS, Tennessee – A Memphis woman was arrested after authorities found her mother lived in what a first responder described as “the worst case of neglect he has ever seen.”
Police responded on June 16 in the 1500 block of Duke Street in Nutbush and found an 85-year-old woman rushed to the hospital by first responders in protective suits.
They told officers they discovered the woman covered in bugs, urine and feces while she was lying on a heavily soiled mattress on the floor.
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The smell that came from the house was so bad that officers could not go inside, the police report said. The house has also been described as full of rubbish and in disrepair.
At the hospital, doctors said the patient had dementia, pneumonia, was malnourished and had pressure sores.
June Harber
The woman’s daughter, June Harber, 57, posed as the main carer to the police. She was arrested and charged with gross neglect and abuse.
Today we spoke to Scott Harber, whose mother is now being charged. He says she did everything she could to look after his grandmother.
“My mother would never do anything to my grandmother like that,” said Harber.
He said she never slept on a mattress on the floor.
“My grandma is actually in a hospital bed that was given to her a few years ago,” he said.
Harber says it was his mother who called paramedics when his grandmother couldn’t get out of bed to go to the bathroom.
“The feces and urine they talk about, it was specifically that day that she called the paramedics,” he said. “My mother herself has health problems in her legs. My mother can barely walk and when the judge sees it. My mother’s legs are purple, they are purple, and she can’t afford to see a doctor herself. “
There weren’t any bugs, said Harber.
“I don’t know where that came from,” he said. “I’m not necessarily saying you are lying, but I know some of the things you said are not true.”
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He said his grandmother was fine and he talked to her almost every day. A relative is now helping to take care of her.
“I don’t know what they wanted or what they are trying to do, but it’s really humiliating and gross,” he said.
No bond information is available for June Harber. The family is now trying to find a lawyer.
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