Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of the alleged abuse.
An Augusta man faces murder and elder abuse charges after his 78-year-old mother died from being “eaten alive” by ants due to neglect, authorities said.
Kenneth Bernard Leverett, 58, was arrested Wednesday after his mother was found unresponsive in their Wrightsboro Road home, according to the Crimes Against the Vulnerable and Elderly (CAVE) task force. The woman was found living in “terrible conditions,” authorities said.
“The victim was covered in rashes, blood and insect bites,” the task force said in a Facebook post. “Ants were observed to be going in and out of the mouth and ears of the victim who appeared to be being ‘eaten alive.’”
The victim, identified as Vivian Marshall by Augusta-based news station WRDW, was also severely dehydrated and underweight. According to an incident report obtained by the news station, University Hospital staff told authorities that she had lost 30 pounds since her last doctor's visit.
The woman died Thursday afternoon. Leverett was initially charged with elder abuse and tampering with evidence, but authorities added a murder charge after his mother’s death.
Deputies said Leverett was seen with cleaning supplies and bug spray when they approached him, indicating he “had been tampering with the crime scene by cleaning it upon our arrival.”
Deputies also noted that the house smelled of urine, was infested with ants and said bloody bedsheets were found in a washing machine.
The GBI will conduct the woman’s autopsy.
Leverett remains in the Richmond County jail without bond, according to online records.
The incident is reminiscent of a Vietnam War veteran who died last year at at the Eagle’s Nest Community Living Center on the Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s campus in DeKalb County.
RELATED: Vietnam vet with cancer found covered in ants before dying at DeKalb VA nursing home
Joel Marrable, who was battling cancer, was found covered in ants twice, leaving him with more than 100 bites before his death, AJC.com previously reported.
The incident led to outrage at his living conditions, with then-U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson releasing a scathing statement that demanded answers.
The conditions were investigated, prompting an Atlanta-based administrator to be placed on leave and eight other staff members to be reassigned.
MORE: VA reassigns nine officials after veteran covered in ants in Atlanta
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