EVANSVILLE – City police on Wednesday reported finding a developmentally disabled man suffering from open wounds on both feet — injuries so severe a blanket covering them had adhered to the sores — along with what appeared to be a burn on his arm, inside a home with no running water and little in the way of food.
The discovery quickly led to the arrest of the man’s brother, Micheal Gregory Tinsley, and Tinsley’s wife, Tamera Lynn Eaton, who Evansville police say had been the man’s sole caregivers since his mother died roughly a month ago, according to court records.
Tinsley, 39, and Eaton, 47, face preliminary charges of neglect of a dependent causing injury, a Level 5 felony, and obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony. Tinsley also faces a marijuana possession charge. Vanderburgh Circuit Court Magistrate Joshua Orem found probable cause in both cases Thursday.
In sworn affidavits filed to support the couple’s charges, EPD Investigator Dave Smith described the alleged victim as autistic, nonverbal and in need of a caregiver for basic daily functions including eating, hygiene and bathing. The man’s mother, Donna Caldwell, had been his primary caregiver before her death; following it, his care fell entirely to Tinsley and Eaton, who had lived with Caldwell at 1117 W. Missouri St. since approximately 2023, according to Smith.
The man’s living conditions caught law enforcement’s attention Sunday after his sister called police from out of state requesting a welfare check. She told dispatchers she was worried about her brother’s care since their mother’s death.
When an officer arrived, Eaton allegedly refused entry. She told him Adult Protective Services had visited the home four times in the past month, a claim Smith said he later confirmed with APS was false. The agency had been to the address before, but for not the alleged victim, Smith wrote.
Without a warrant or cause to believe a crime is being committed, police generally cannot enter a private residence without permission or a warrant. Detectives later determined that APS personnel may not have ever stepped foot inside the West Missouri Street home and that their interactions with the Tinsley’s family might have been limited to phone calls.
A representative for APS, which is no longer operated by the State of Indiana but contracted to a for-profi subsidiary of the Public Consulting Group, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the agency’s involvement in the case.
Two days later, a medical device company employee who had gone to the home to retrieve equipment belonging to Caldwell reported that a person with special needs was on the couch with visible wounds on his legs and that the home was in disarray. An officer responded but no one answered, though sounds from inside led the officer to believe Tinsley’s brother was present, Smith’s affidavit states. The officer also learned both Eaton and Tinsley had outstanding felony warrants in Spencer County.
On Wednesday, Smith and an EPD officer returned and threatened to force the door open. Eaton answered.
Inside, they reported finding Tinsley’s brother on a recliner section of the couch, appearing unable to move — his arms drawn inward, legs stationary. A family member told police he was mobile and standing at their mother’s bedside the day she died. Eaton allegedly explained away his brother’s deteriorating condition by telling Smith he had stopped moving because he was “mourning” Caldwell’s death.
When paramedics removed the blanket from the man’s lower body, it had adhered to large, oozing sores covering both feet, Smith wrote. Hospital staff at Deaconess Midtown later found what appeared to be a burn with blistering on the inner part of his left arm. Eaton told Smith she had been treating the foot wounds herself. Smith wrote there was no evidence she had done so.
Police described the home where Tinsley’s brother had been living as dilapidated and bug infested.
The refrigerator was empty, Smith found. A nearly empty box of cereal was the only visible food in the home. That’s what Eaton said the man had eaten that day. The water had been shut off, a fact the Evansville Water & Sewer Utility confirmed. Floors were caving in, with plywood laid over carpet in places. The bathroom toilet held stagnant water with flies present. The affidavit described odors of urine, possible feces, mold, mildew and decay.
According to her arrest affidavit, Eaton told Smith she had blocked the initial welfare check because she was afraid of losing her brother-in-law.
Police arrested Tinsley and Eaton Wednesday, booking them one after the other into the Vanderburgh County jail that afternoon pending their initial appearances in court. As of Thursday, prosecutors had yet to file formal charges, and it was not immediately clear if Tinsley or Eaton had retained an attorney.
Tinsley and Eaton were also being held pursuant to the warrants out of Spencer County, where both stand accused of violating the terms of their probation in a 2023 narcotics case, court records state.
Houston may be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville couple charged with neglecting disabled relative
Reporting by Houston Harwood, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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