A Cobb County grand jury has indicted two brothers accused of neglecting their disabled mother, who weighed just 75 pounds when she died.
Christopher Lee Durham, 39, and James Stephen Stanfield Jr., 42, were each indicted late last week on five counts, including two counts of felony murder, neglect of a disabled adult, abuse of a disabled adult and exploitation, according to the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
The two are accused of killing their 65-year-old mother, Dinah Durham, who suffered from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, and was confined to a wheelchair, according to investigators.
In September 2019, investigators were called to the Mableton house where Dinah Durham lived with her sons. In arrest warrants, police accused both men of not providing enough food and water to their mother “to the point that she was emaciated and only weighed 75 pounds.”
“The accused neglected his mother in that she was left to sit in a wheelchair for approximately two weeks without an adult diaper,” warrants for both men state. “The victim was sitting in her own feces while she had open compression sores that exposed the bone in her legs and her pelvic bone.”
The flesh was exposed to Dinah Durham’s feces and she developed a sepsis infection that caused her death, the warrants state.
Christopher Durham also allegedly used his mother’s bank debit card to make purchases at gas stations, subscribe to dating sites and download video games, according to police. He also made cash withdrawals from ATMs using his mother’s card, his warrant states.
Both brothers were arrested and charged with their mother’s murder in February 2020. They remained Wednesday in the Cobb jail, where they are being held without bond.
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