Boyfriend Of Woman Stuck To Toilet Charged

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

(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.

[nothappyatall]

Was her choice to stay there

[rushlimpdrug]

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

If anyone is an authority on bathroom rules it
is Mr. Whipple.
Go get''em Mr. Whipple!

and pleeeeze, "Ladies, Don''t squeeze the Charmin!"

[neonink]

Talk about somebody who needs a good swift kick in the pants. And I''m talking about her, not him.

[hdradio]

Wow, nothing but narrow minded ignorance we have here. Agoraphobia is a very severe and disabling condition. It can get to a point where a person is "totally incapable" of leaving a particular area or room where they feel relief from the intolerable anxiety that is responsible for this condition. There is no "choice" about it, for the person afflicted it is not a decision, it is a sentence.

[lochlan-2009]

This is the problem with this country, they can now arrest you for just about anything it seems, even not doing something. Why is this his responsibility, why wasn''t it the states responsiblitiy to know where she is, or her families or anyone else. Might as well arrest them too.

[ranger1948]

This lady obviously had a mental condition. The boyfriend should have reported it to authorities sooner, but it doesn''t say what his mental state or condition is also. Perhaps he has a very low iq and didn''t understand what the circumstances meant.. We need to know the facts beofre deciding who was right and wrong, but i think a mental exam should be given to the boyfriend and the girlfriend before they even thought about filing any charges. I am sure whatever the guilt level is on his part it doesn''t cinstitute jail time and i think the prosecutor may be wasting tax payers money.

[barbaraf4]

Obviously this woman has serious mental problems which are now compounded by her physical limitations; however, one question: who is paying her medical bills? The ambulance alone cost a pretty penny.

[easeup-2009]

This story just sticks with you--I was hoping it was all behind us.....

[fibonacci_]

I say if she says he wouldnt get her help, charge him, if not - let the idiot go sit on another toilet.

[tomanyt]

Why don''t they charge her for being an idiot? Why can''t adults take responsibility for themselves. Our prison system is already overcrowded. Do we really need to send this guy to prison because she refused to get off the toilet?

[megamanx1-2009]

This is some idiot prosecuter trying to "make the papers" Last time I checked, it''s a free country and if she wants to sit on the toilet for 1, 2, or 10 years or the rest of her life, she has the right to do so. This guy has no responsibility to get her off of the seat. They aren''t even married for god''s sake but even if they were this would still be the dumbest thing to charge somebody for.

[azcagirl]

I agree that he should not be charged because she has mental issues. They look at the fact that he did not get help for her sooner like he did not care for her. He brought her food and water and kept asking her if she wanted to come out. What would happen if he just said screw it and left and decided not to come back at all? It says she lived with him for 15 years and spent two on the toilet why the sudden onset of wanting to stay in there for so long? She hasn''t spent her whole life in there so I think it was her choice and he should be let go. As for Mr. Whipple he is an idiot.

[excoachken]

McFerren: Don''t worry, be happy!

[bks59]

not to diminish the seriouness of mental illnes, but let''s face it is a funny story with too sad an ending.

but look at the bright side, at least they didn''t breed.

[sheila2u-2009]

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 !!!!!!!!!!!!

[erasmus6]

"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.

[Gary Kempf]

Lets face it, Neither Babcock Or Mcfarrens Marbles where all accounted for. Does the DA there really lack real criminals to prosecute?

[magoo2u1]

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!

[magoo2u1]

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.

[Gary Kempf]

magoo2u1
Keep it in mind, that Sheriff Whipple is here to enforce it too!

[mswolfestock]

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.

[timetrips1]

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.

[mike71067]

I''ve taken dumps that required me to sit on the toilet for an extended period of time. I recommend more dietary fiber.

[fibonacci_]

This woman must be a Republican.

[stn_sage]

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!

[grammawhamma]

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.

[summarex]

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.

[shanev137]

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.

[rudy654-2009]

Anyone believing that woman was sitting on that toilet voluntarily all those two years needs to get a reality check up ASAP.

[scottyusa]

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.

[cyberus-2009]

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

[candide777]

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.

[grammawhamma]

rudy654: Please read the article before you comment. She was not sitting on the toilet for two years. Also research agoraphobia.
-------
God "BLESS" America

[shanev137]

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.