A Dickson City woman faces involuntary manslaughter and related charges after officials say she let her 18-year-old severely disabled daughter “rot” and spend her final days lying on a urine-soaked couch, without care or medical treatment.
Christina Harvey, 50, also faces felony charges of neglecting a care-dependent person and endangering the welfare of a child, according to Lackawanna County District Attorney Brian Gallagher.
On Dec. 10, 2025, Dickson City police were called to 706 Carmalt St. for the report of an unresponsive 18-year-old as emergency medical personnel were administering CPR.
Officers arriving at the scene were overwhelmed with the filth and smell of the residence. They noted that a couch in the living room was covered in filth and sunken in to its base. What appeared to be human feces was smeared on the wall behind the couch and police noted flies throughout the house.
Dickson City police Officer John Wilson learned that Brandy Harvey suffered a massive stroke when she was 11 months old. She was nonverbal, partially paralyzed, legally blind and had seizures. According to the criminal complaint, Christina Harvey told police her daughter had not eaten for several days because she was ill and only drank a small amount of water.
She was taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center, where medical personnel noted her extremely poor condition, including bedsores, bruising, ulcers and rotted teeth. Her feet and toes appeared black and necrotic.
Brandy Harvey died the next day.
“When someone is entrusted with the care of a vulnerable person — someone who cannot speak for themselves, cannot see for themselves and cannot protect themselves — that responsibility is absolute,” Gallagher said in a release. “To abandon that duty and allow a special needs person to suffer, deteriorate, and ultimately die under such deplorable conditions is as disturbing as it is criminal.
“For a parent to allow their child to suffer and rot like this is unconscionable. My thoughts and prayers are with this young woman; may she finally be at peace.”
On Dec. 13, county Coroner Tim Rowland determined Brandy Harvey’s cause of death to be neglect, and the manner is listed as homicide.
Forensic Pathologist Marianne Hamel, who performed the autopsy, noted open weeping ulcers, extreme dental disease, swelling and greenish-black discoloration of toes of both feet.
Extreme medical, educational, financial neglect
A 31-page affidavit paints a bleak picture of Brandy Harvey’s last years, as well as her last days.
Police say Harvey hadn’t attended school since May 2025. When asked why her daughter had not attended school, Christina Harvey said her daughter would have “belly blow-outs” resulting in “massive explosive diapers” and that the school bathroom was not big enough to clean her up.
When investigators asked Harvey why she then didn’t attempt to provide in-home care for her daughter, she said, “She is my daughter, she is my responsibility, my baby.”
Additionally, Harvey is accused of financially exploiting her daughter.
According to Social Security Administration records for the period from 2013 to 2022, Brandy Harvey received about $78,430 in benefits.
For the period of 2022 to 2025, Brandy received approximately $61,530 in survivor’s benefits following the death of her father in 2021.
Investigators pointed out that in spite of these funds, Christina Harvey, who served as her daughter’s payee, withheld medical care, prescription medication and hygiene supplies from her.
They allege Christina Harvey used her daughter’s resources “exclusively for personal or residential expenses while allowing the victim’s physical health and hygiene to deteriorate.”
When asked about the actions that are believed to have led to her daughter’s death, Christina Harvey said, “She was my whole world. Maybe I didn’t do things right. Maybe I don’t know. I just don’t know. But I tried my very best every day with her. She was my whole heart.”
When asked about the state of the house, Harvey said she got lax in cleaning and maintenance because of her back. Her priority, she said, was to take care of her daughter.
Due to the condition of the home and the determination that it was unfit for human habitation, the borough of Dickson City partially condemned the residence, allowing access only during daylight hours.
The case was investigated by Lackawanna County Detectives Renee Castellani and Colleen O’Hora and Dickson City Officer John Wilson.
Harvey was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge George Seig, who denied bail in the case. She remains at Lackawanna County Prison. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on April 29.