A 33-year-old Fort Wayne woman was sentenced Tuesday to two years on home detention for neglecting her grandmother.
During the hearing, both Allen Superior Judge John Surbeck and Prosecutor Karen Richards expressed concern for Melanie McKinley's soon-to-be-born child, given her past behavior.
In October 2011, police and paramedics responded to a report of an older woman who seemed confused and looked as though she'd been battered.
They found a 78-year-old woman alone and disoriented, with numerous bruises and blood on her nose. Her home had wires across the floor and an open door to the basement staircase.
The woman's granddaughter, Melanie McKinley, was at a neighbor's home, having left the elderly woman alone for a few hours. She told police and paramedics that the woman was injured because she fell down a lot and told them not to take her to the hospital, according to court documents.
But emergency officials ignored that request. Doctors found numerous bruises, cuts to her hands and mild fractures to her pelvis, according to court documents.
Originally charged with Class C felony neglect of a dependent, prosecutors dismissed the more serious charge and McKinley pleaded guilty to a Class D felony charge.
Since the incident, McKinley's grandmother has died.
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