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Couple Accused Of Murdering Son They Tied To bed At Night ‘To Keep Him From Taking Food,’ Police Say

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Source: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office

Jul. 6 2022, Published 1:06 p.m. ET

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A Tennessee couple are facing murder charges after their disabled adult son died from severe starvation, police said.

Chattanooga police responded to the Hixson home of John D. Hoover, 69, and his wife, 44-year-old Jacqueline Hoover, on June 23, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by WTVC.

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John Hoover allegedly told police his 44-year-old son completely stopped eating four days earlier after barely eating since April, and detectives noted the man was “obviously emaciated and had pressure sores on his person,” the affidavit states.

After the son was transported to an area hospital, medical staff determined he was severely malnourished and dehydrated and appeared to be the victim of severe neglect or possibly abuse, police wrote in the document.

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The alleged victim, who last received medical care in February and had the mental capacity of a 5-year-old child, died on June 29, nearly one week after arriving at the hospital, the affidavit states.

According to police, the couple moved in with their son to care for him after the man’s grandmother died and John Hoover allegedly said he and his wife “would withhold food from the victim to get him to shower and tied him to a bed at night to keep him from taking food.”

Police wrote in the affidavit that they believe John and Jacqueline Hoover “willfully and knowingly deprived the victim of dire medical attention.”

In addition to felony murder, the pair also face a charge of aggravated neglect of a vulnerable adult.

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