Janet Wilson: Mom Who Abandoned Her Disabled Daughter And Left Her To Die Gets Three Years In Prison

Mothers, they say, are the epitome of love – sacrificing almost anything for the well-being of her child. Yet, there comes occasional instances when this belief is questioned. Take for example 54-year-old Janet Wilson, a New Jersey woman who has been sentenced to three years in prison for an unthinkable offense. Janet was sentenced after she admitted that she had abandoned her wheelchair-bound daughter and left the handicapped woman to die alone in their mobile home, reports USA Today. Unable to take care of herself, her 32-year-old daughter Rebecca Wilson eventually died. Her decomposed body was later recovered by law enforcement agencies.

The horrific incident came to light last year in May after the body of Wilson was discovered in the mobile home at Manchester on May 30, 2013. According to The Daily Journal, local police had to break open the mobile home following complaints of foul odor emanating from the mobile home. Inside the home, scenes were straight out of a horror movie. The body of Rebecca Wilson was found on a hospital bed. A dog was also found dead inside a steel cage – obviously left to die inside the home along with Rebecca. The home was filled with trash as well. In fact, so bad was the condition of the mobile home that authorities eventually decided to condemn the entire structure as it was deemed unfit for human habitation anymore.

Following investigations, Janet Wilson was arrested by police on June 20 on charges of aggravated manslaughter, desecrating human remains, and neglect of a disabled adult. What made her crime even more despicable was the fact the she had been receiving social security checks intended for her daughter Rebecca and that she had, days before her arrest, transferred $600 to her own account from Rebecca’s.

In the courtroom, which was conspicuous by the absence of any of Rebecca’s or Janet’s relatives, the 54-year-old woman sat shackled in chains and wept before Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson when she was given a chance to speak before her sentencing. Admitting her guilt, Janet said;

“I’m very sorry for what I’ve done. I loved my daughter very much and I miss her terribly … And I’m just very sorry.”

It was hard to believe her emotions were really true. For had it been, Rebecca Wilson would have been alive today.

During the trial, prosecutors from The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office learned that Janet’s daughter was completely dependent on her mother due to her disability. However, instead of taking responsibility, Janet Wilson shied away from it rather cruelly and stayed with her friends at local motels – as her daughter lay dying with hunger and neglect.

Janet Wilson could have been sentenced to a ten-year term. However, she admitted guilt to reckless manslaughter in exchange for a three-to-five year sentence instead.

Do you think Janet Wilson was let off with a light sentence considering the gravity of her offense?

[Image Via USA Today]