Caretakers charged with neglect after malnourished Kentucky woman found dead

WARNING: Details in this story are disturbing.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WSMV) – A death investigation is underway in Kentucky after police said an adult woman was found dead in malnourished and deplorable conditions.

According to the Bowling Green Police Department, Jazzmyn Fikes, 44, was found dead on Sunday at a home on 429 Gary Ave. Fikes appeared extremely malnourished and severely underweight, to the point where her ribs and hip bones were visible, police said.

Fikes was on a small bed, wearing a blue shirt and a diaper filled with human waste and maggots in and around it, police said. Her body was cold and had bed sores on various parts of her body.

When Fikes was lifted off the mattress, officers could see maggots inside wounds and a cigarette butt stuck to her back.

Fikes’ caregiver, Lonnie Leonard, was then contacted by authorities. Leonard told police Fikes had been diagnosed with a severe case of multiple sclerosis. Leonard knew about Fikes’ bedsores, police said, and he had been treating them with body lotion.

Police said Leonard told investigators he was not sure the last time Fikes was seen by a doctor.

Leonard and his brother Alexander, who was sometimes Fikes’ caregiver, were charged with knowingly abusing or neglecting an adult.

The investigation is ongoing. Fikes’ body was sent to a medical examiner for an autopsy.

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