Man Let His Mother Rot to Death in Trash-Filled Home and Blamed Her for Being ‘Stubborn,’ Police Say

A 52-year-old man has been accused of allowing his 70-year-old mother to rot to death inside their home in Del City, Oklahoma. Police arrested Duane Valentine after officers found his mother, Deborah Valentine, dead in her bed.

According to the Del City Police Department, they received a call from Duane after he found his mother unresponsive. When officers reached the home, they were shocked to see that the place was absolutely filthy.

Police said they found Deborah Valentine's body in a horrible condition, as she was surrounded by trash, rats, and human filth. “When officers got there, the house was in deplorable condition. Dirt, trash, and rodents were found all over the house. Upon checking on the woman, she was, in fact, deceased,” Del City Police Officer Blake Reichert said in a statement.

Duane Valentine told police he had been living with his mother for the past nine years and had been acting as her caretaker. He told the police that Deborah Valentine became bedridden a few months ago and fell severely sick in the days leading up to her death.

He claimed he last spoke to his mother two days before he found her unresponsive. According to him, he went to her room a day before her death, but thought she was sleeping. Valentine said his mother was stubborn and did not like to be disturbed while sleeping, which is why he did not try to wake her up.

Police body camera footage shows Valentine telling the officers, “I did check on her a couple of times a day, and she was breathing, and she was fine, but I let her sleep Sunday and went to check on her today and got no response from her.”

Investigators suspect Deborah Valentine had been dead for days before her son called the authorities. “He’s saying that she’d been sick, but that he recently checked on her, like in the day or two. She’s like sunk into the bed, a mouse was eating on her face when I came in,” one officer said to another in the body camera video.

The rest of the members of the family were eventually called to the house. When they asked Valentine why he did not inform them about Deborah Valentine's death, he replied, “I didn’t know bud. I didn’t, I didn’t think she was gone.”

Authorities charged Valentine with second-degree murder and abuse by a caretaker. However, he maintains that he did not kill his mother.

“Come right now, let’s talk about this because I didn’t kill my mother, alright. My mother was stubborn, didn't like to be messed with when she sleeps,” Valentine said.

Valentine was initially held at the Oklahoma County Detention Center but was later released on a $50,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 19. For the time being, he has been ordered to wear a GPS monitor. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is also investigating a possible financial abuse angle in the case.