NESS CITY, Kan., March 20, 2008

Boyfriend Of Woman Stuck To Toilet Charged

Authorities Say Man Mistreated Girlfriend By Allowing Her To Stay In Bathroom For 2 Years

    • Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple speaks about the case of a Ness City, Kan., woman who sat in the bathroom of her boyfriend's home for long enough that her body was stuck to the toilet during an interview Thursday, March 13, 2008 in Ness City.

      Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple speaks about the case of a Ness City, Kan., woman who sat in the bathroom of her boyfriend's home for long enough that her body was stuck to the toilet during an interview Thursday, March 13, 2008 in Ness City.  (AP Photo/Lindsey Bauman)

    • The home of Kory McFarren is pictured on Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Ness City, Kan., where the man's girlfriend was found in the bathroom having stayed there for long enough for her to become stuck to the toilet.

      The home of Kory McFarren is pictured on Thursday, March 13, 2008, in Ness City, Kan., where the man's girlfriend was found in the bathroom having stayed there for long enough for her to become stuck to the toilet.  (AP Photo/Lindsey Bauman)

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(CBS/AP)  A man whose girlfriend authorities say spent nearly two years in a bathroom in their house, sitting on the toilet so long that the seat adhered to her body, has been charged with mistreatment of a dependent adult.

Kory McFarren, 37, was charged Monday in Ness County District Court.

McFarren called the Ness County Sheriff's Office in late February to say something was wrong with his girlfriend. When authorities arrived at the home, they found Pam Babcock, 35, stuck to the toilet, which they think she had sat on for about a month.

McFarren told authorities that Babcock feared leaving the bathroom and may not have left it in two years, although said he was unsure how long she was in there. He said that he took her food and water daily, and that he repeatedly asked her to come out but that she usually replied "maybe tomorrow."

"The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner," McFarren told The Associated Press nearly a week ago.

Ness County Attorney Craig Crosswhite said the mistreatment charge most closely fit the situation.

"I looked at the statutes and spoke to the attorney general's office," he said. "This was a very unusual set of circumstances, and this is the law that most closely applied to the situation."

Authorities said Babcock sat on the toilet so long that open sores developed and caused her to become attached to the seat. Sheriff Bryan Whipple has said that he used a pry bar to remove the seat from the toilet, and that the woman was taken to the hospital with the seat still attached.

"She would have to be sleeping on the toilet," Whipple said.

Doctors at a Wichita hospital where Babcock was taken told McFarren that an infection in her legs had damaged her nerves and could leave her in a wheelchair. She was still at the hospital Wednesday night.

"How in the world could someone let her stay there for 2 years and not get help of some kind from somewhere?" Babcock's first cousin Carmern McNamara asked CBS News affiliate WIBW-TV in Topeka.

McNamara says Pamela was close to her family until 15 years ago when she went to live with McFarren, but McFarren says it was Pamela's decision not to talk to her family.

McFarren's first court appearance will be in April, Crosswhite said.


© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 34 Comments
by shanev137 March 21, 2008 2:00 AM EDT
Anyone believing that woman was sitting on that toilet voluntarily all those two years needs to get a reality check up ASAP.

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Anyone who believes that she couldn''t run out the door or made a phone call for help during those two years while he was out grocery shopping/working, needs to get a reality check up ASAP.

Reply to this comment
by grammawhamma March 21, 2008 1:15 AM EDT
rudy654: Please read the article before you comment. She was not sitting on the toilet for two years. Also research agoraphobia.
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God "BLESS" America
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by candide777 March 21, 2008 12:50 AM EDT
Great example of how as$backwards our criminal justice system is. This guy needs a pyschiartrist, not a jail sentence. Republicans who support this kind of rough justice should be locked up, not this guy.
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by cyberus-2009 March 20, 2008 11:56 PM EDT
Since she had to be convinced by her *rescuers* to ALLOW them to take her from the bathroom I don''t see how he can be held responsible .. except as has been mentioned a conviction happy prosecutor ramming some obscure statute down the throat of 12 people to dumb to get out of jury duty
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by scottyusa March 20, 2008 11:23 PM EDT
Obviously they are both loony so I say leave them alone. 2 years? No way. He should have called 911 after a few hours or a day at the very most. I would believe a month maybe but that is hard to swallow even.
Reply to this comment
by rudy654-2009 March 20, 2008 11:08 PM EDT
Anyone believing that woman was sitting on that toilet voluntarily all those two years needs to get a reality check up ASAP.
Reply to this comment
by shanev137 March 20, 2008 10:58 PM EDT
He should have thrown the b!tch out of his trailer on the third day of her being on the pot, and never let her back in.

Let this be a lesson to all you guys out there.
Reply to this comment
by summarex March 20, 2008 10:46 PM EDT
This happens because we have a tiny pack of govt thugs called prosecutors who can do anything they want with people and get away with it. I look foward to the day when we will round up these animals, put them on trial and send them to the gallows.
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by grammawhamma March 20, 2008 8:36 PM EDT
This woman was suffering from a severe form of agoraphobia. Her boy friend should NOT be charged with anything. (He called for help when he realized she was not well physically.) It is not a crime to be agoraphobic.

If the boy friend would have called authorities the first week this woman spent in the bathroom...what do you think would have happened?? My guess is they would have laughed at him and done nothing.
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by stn_sage March 20, 2008 5:11 PM EDT
timetrips1 - I agree with you. The prosecutor is searching for a law under which her boyfriend can be charged?! Are you kidding me?! GET A LIFE ALREADY!

These people used poor judgment and both might be just a little slow mentally, but charging them with a crime(s), is only complicating/increasing the problem NOT fixing it!

I don''t know if the woman''s a Republican, but I''d bet the prosecutor is!
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by fibonacci_ March 20, 2008 3:58 PM EDT
This woman must be a Republican.
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by mike71067 March 20, 2008 3:51 PM EDT
I''ve taken dumps that required me to sit on the toilet for an extended period of time. I recommend more dietary fiber.
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by timetrips1 March 20, 2008 3:11 PM EDT
Doesn''t the prosecutor have any real crimes to worry about. All this means is the next time someone has a mentally ill person in their home they had better kick them out to the street where they can safely join all the other mentally ill homeless people in the US, otherwise at the first time you have to call for help you''ll end up in jail.

More great use of our tax payer dollars. Of course after her SWIFT treatment at the hospital (because she doesn''t have insurance) now she won''t have a home to return to.
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by mswolfestock March 20, 2008 3:01 PM EDT
This is just too, too sad. Both of these people need some kind of supervision, some kind of mental health counseling. Nothing will be solved by throwing the poor guy in jail. I''m just really amazed at how fate threw these two helpless people together. They need help - they guy should not be put in jail.
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by Gary Kempf March 20, 2008 2:59 PM EDT
magoo2u1
Keep it in mind, that Sheriff Whipple is here to enforce it too!
Reply to this comment
by magoo2u1 March 20, 2008 2:54 PM EDT
Also, I bet if he DIDN''T bring her food she would have come out sooner. She could have got off the toilet too since you don''t need one if you don''t eat.
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by magoo2u1 March 20, 2008 2:53 PM EDT
THANK GOD IN HEAVEN they were able to find a law somewhere that would "most closely apply". The idea that anything could happen in this country that couldn''t be prosecuted was costing me sleep. Now I can sleep safely with the knowledge that if I oversleep there is a statute someplace that could be applied to me and send me to jail. Whew!
Reply to this comment
by Gary Kempf March 20, 2008 2:41 PM EDT
Lets face it, Neither Babcock Or Mcfarrens Marbles where all accounted for. Does the DA there really lack real criminals to prosecute?
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by erasmus6 March 20, 2008 2:36 PM EDT
"but look at the bright side, at least they didn''''t breed." Posted by bks59

No, but there are a lot out there that do.
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by sheila2u-2009 March 20, 2008 2:31 PM EDT
Why didn''t he get help sooner ? Someone that mentally ill needed help not food brought to toilet !!
He is as crazy as she is !!!!!!!!!!!!
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