Son Avoids Jail in Elder Abuse Case

A Glendale man accused of allowing his dying 93-year-old mother to lie for months in a filthy bed has pleaded no contest to a felony charge of elder abuse, a deal which allows him to avoid prison.

Hugh Thomas McDade, 58, a former security guard who shared a one-bedroom apartment with his mother, entered his no-contest plea Monday during his arraignment in Pasadena before Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz.

In exchange for his plea, McDade faces three years probation and an $800 fine when he returns to court June 6 for sentencing before Schwartz, Deputy Public Defender Jeffrey Treloar said.

Until calling paramedics Nov. 11, McDade had cared for his increasingly ill mother, Agnes McDade, by dressing her skin disorders with paper towels and using cardboard to contain her waste, prosecutors said. She died of a heart attack within minutes of arriving at a local hospital.

Police, summoned because of the 75-pound woman’s condition, arrested McDade after concluding that he had failed to seek medical care for her until it was too late. The woman’s health had faltered in the last two months of her life, particularly after a fall that had rendered her unconscious for four days and left her unable to walk, authorities said.

Described by neighbors as reclusive, McDade has been unemployed for about 12 years and apparently had lived off his mother’s savings and government assistance, police said.