John Jefferson
Inset: David Whitten (Benton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The home where Caterina Whitten was found dead (KHBS/KHOG).
A 73-year-old Arkansas father faces charges in the death of his blind and disabled adopted daughter, who was found dead with cockroach bites in a soiled diaper in a filthy home.
David Whitten faces a charge of negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of an incompetent person in the death of his daughter, Caterina Whitten, 29.
She was discovered dead on Friday at a home in Lowell, more than 200 miles northwest of Little Rock.
“The initial reaction is just like anybody else,” Benton County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson said. “It’s one of sadness and just kind of — shock. You hate to see people living in poor conditions. You hate to see somebody that loses their life, especially at a pretty young age.”
Police and firefighters made the discovery while responding to a medical call, according to a press release.
An affidavit of probable cause outlines the allegations. It started when police responded to the home for a death investigation. Police found five other disabled adults living at the home, all adopted by David Whitten. The children were deemed incompetent, and the defendant was their primary caregiver, the document said. While there, police said one of the adult children was walking around in an adult diaper that appeared to be full of feces, the affidavit said.
On the floor, police saw adult diapers full of feces, trash and dog feces. Cockroaches could be seen throughout the house. Part of the house was flooded, with only one working toilet. Dirty dishes with mold were found in the kitchen, court documents said.
In a bedroom, police found Caterina Whitten’s body — in a blue shirt and an adult diaper — on a bed. Her legs pointed toward the wall. The body’s position appeared to suggest it had been staged, the document said.
Police requested a rape kit be performed due to another bedroom being found with only a bed, a dress, and blood on the wall, according to the affidavit. Dried brown fluids covered the bed, the box spring and the walls, the affidavit said.
Medical examiners determined Caterina Whitten was malnourished and had bites from cockroaches on her head and an abrasion to her forehead, the document said.
David Whitten allegedly told police that his daughter had been healthy for a long time and didn’t take any medications. But on Christmas Day, he allegedly told police, “She sunk to the floor and wouldn’t move,” the affidavit said.
He allegedly said he had “gone through this phase” with her several times where she didn’t want to eat much and would lose weight. He said he would get double calorie and double protein “boosts” and give it to her. Usually, she recovered. He said that for about a week, she had been feeling better. He said she was walking across the room, but then she stopped. He said he put her in her bed and that she usually pushed herself up out of bed with her elbow, but in the days before she was found dead, she wouldn’t get up, according to the document.
He said the night before she was found dead, he checked her, picked her up, gave her some milk, and she made some noises. He said he set her down on the bed. He said in the morning when he went to check on her, he couldn’t detect any breath and called 911.
The defendant’s other adult children were hospitalized at the request of adult protective services, but they were later “medically cleared.”
Whitten was booked into the Benton County Jail and released on $25,000 bond. He is set to appear in court on Feb. 10.
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