Philadelphia Mother, Nyia Parler, Arrested For Leaving Disabled Son In Woods For Five Days While Visiting Boyfriend
A Philadelphia mother, Nyia Parler, 41, was arrested for abandoning her 21-year-old son – who suffers from quadriplegia – in the woods for five days while she visited her boyfriend in Maryland.
Friday night, a passerby discovered a man lying on the ground – 10 feet away from his wheelchair – at Cobbs Creek Park with a blanket covering half of his body and a bible resting on his chest, according to Daily News.
[EveryJoe] Philly Mom Abandoned Quadriplegic Son in the Woods for Days http://t.co/jHhqo7Ql2B
— B5Media (@B5Feed) April 12, 2015
Lt. John Walker of the Philadelphia Police was in shock after discovering the abandoned man in the woods – who is non-verbal and suffers from cerebral palsy — in the woods. He told reporters at ABC News that “This kid is obviously a fighter. It’s just unbelievable how we found him last night. It’s just heartbreaking to see how another human, especially a mother, could treat him like that.”
The abandoned man – whose name has not been released – was taken to a nearby hospital where doctors treated him for dehydration, malnutrition, and a cut on his back. Sources say had he not been found when he did, he wouldn’t have survived for much longer, but he is now in stable condition.
Mom of Abandoned Quadriplegic Man in Custody http://t.co/Orbr8UHnYh #philly pic.twitter.com/22eqoV5Un0
— Philly News Now (@phillynewsnow) April 12, 2015
“A lot of things could have happened out there,” Walker continued. “Obviously he’s in the middle of a wooded area. You have wild animals there… this kid could not defend himself. He does not function at all.”
“What we’ve learned so far is that the 21-year-old child lives with his mother, completely dependent on mom as a result of his condition.
“She also has a 16-year-old son who is staying with other family members.
“We know she left for Maryland on Monday to go see her boyfriend on a bus.”
After Philadelphia police conducted an investigation, they discovered that the abandoned man was dumped in the woods by his mother, Parler, who fled to Maryland to visit her boyfriend. She left her quadriplegic son in the woods for five days.
Police uncovered her location and made an arrest Saturday night while in Maryland. However, upon her arrest, she had to be taken to a nearby hospital. Information regarding the matter has not been released.
“The timeline is whatever the doctors say,” the Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks stated. “When she has completed her treatment we will take her from the hospital to the District Court in Maryland.”
Parler’s neighbors were shocked after finding out what she had done. One neighbor claims that “She used to push him out to the school bus in his wheelchair, she seemed to care for him. Whenever I saw him, I saw her. I would see them outside together in the summer when he got home from school. Nothing looked wrong, I didn’t suspect anything.”
Once she is released from the hospital, the Philadelphia mother will be taken to court where she will face charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, and neglect of a care-dependent person.
[Image courtesy of McD22/Flickr]
