PEN ARGYL, Pa. — A Northampton County woman is being charged with neglect in connection to the death of a woman with Down Syndrome who she was caring for, according to court documents.
Susan Edwards, 69, of Pen Argyl, is charged with two counts of neglect of a care-dependent person.
Officials say that Edwards provided “life sharing” services to Shelley Youngkin, 51, in their Pen Argyl home through Access Services.
Edwards lived with Youngkin for almost 20 years as her caregiver, according to authorities.
Her responsibilities included helping Youngkin with daily living tasks, providing meals, hygiene care including bathing, medicine, and transport to medical visits, according to the affidavit.
Youngkin was found unresponsive in the home and was pronounced dead on Oct. 15, 2023, by the Northampton County Coroner. Edwards was not home at the time, and Youngkin was left in the care of another person with intellectual disabilities residing in the home, court documents detail.
At the time of death, Youngkin was found to have two infected bedsores that were large enough to be clearly visible to anyone viewing her body, officials said. Her cause of death, according to the coroner, was due to septic complications from the sores.
Photos taken by the coroner’s office showed that the sores were covered in white gauze that had to be peeled away in order to see them, court documents said.
Youngkin was scheduled to have a substitute caregiver from Oct. 13 to the 20th due to Edwards having scheduled surgery, officials said. The substitute caregiver was postponed by Edwards because her surgery was cancelled or rescheduled, but Edwards was admitted to the hospital on Oct. 14, court documents said.
Edwards was supposed to notify Access Services to provide an alternative caregiver while she was unavailable but did not, according to the affidavit.
Edwards remained as an inpatient at the hospital until after Youngkin died, and was therefore unable to provide care for her during that time, officials said.
Court documents say that Edwards never informed her supervisor of the presence of a bedsore on Youngkin, and that she was responsible for obtaining medical care for Youngkin when needed, and should not have provided wound care herself.
Instead of coordinating care for Youngkin, Edwards canceled at least eight medical appointments between April and Sept. 2023, concealed the bed sores from family members, and attempted to self-manage the injuries with over-the-counter dressings purchased online, directly resulting in the neglect and death of Youngkin, the affidavit said.
Edwards remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail. Her preliminary court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19.