Local News in Brief : Charges Added in Death of Woman, 80
Charges of involuntary manslaughter were added Friday to existing charges of elder neglect against a Lakewood couple in the death of the man’s 80-year-old mother, Otelia Boithillet.
Roger Louis Hummel, 54, and his wife, Cindy Lee Hummel, 31, were arraigned by Commissioner Leland H. Tipton in Los Cerritos Municipal Court. Involuntary manslaughter and elder neglect is each punishable by up to four years in state prison.
Tipton also reduced the couple’s bail from $50,000 each to $10,000 each.
The couple was arrested Dec. 31 after they called La Palma Hospital to assist Boithillet. Severe malnutrition and pneumonia were listed as the causes of death.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert K. Gosney said he added the manslaughter charge because evidence indicated the Hummels were criminally negligent in failing to seek medical help earlier.
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