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Fayette County woman accused of restraining mentally disabled daughter with handcuffs, chains

By Mike Jones 4 min read
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Marylou Dewitt

A Fayette County woman is accused of handcuffing her mentally disabled daughter to a bed frame and wrapping chains around her neck and waist to restrain her over several days.

Marylou Dewitt, 53, is jailed without bond after state police charged her with felony neglect of a disabled person and numerous other counts after her 22-year-old adopted daughter was found restrained early Wednesday morning.

State police were dispatched to 703 Stauffer St. in Upper Tyrone Township shortly before 2 a.m. when the adopted woman’s sister called 911 to say their mother had been behaving erratically.

The woman, who is in her late teens, told troopers that she had been out at a local convenience store getting food shortly after midnight. When she went to Dewitt’s home near Scottdale, she heard her adopted sister screaming from an upstairs bedroom and found her restrained in the bed, according to court documents. She didn’t know how long her sister had been in that condition, but said the woman apparently only had access to sandwiches with no other food or water available.

The teen found keys to the handcuffs and two separate chains that were wrapped around her body in a nearby lunchbox, and was able to free her sister, who police said is mentally handicapped. Dewitt apparently came home at some point and tried to clean up the scene, but the teen stopped her from tampering with any evidence and called 911, according to court documents.

Trooper Rocco Gagliardi, who serves as a spokesman for state police, said the living conditions in the room were deplorable when police arrived at the house. He added there was evidence that the woman had been restrained for a lengthy period of time.

“I know the room wasn’t very pleasant,” he said.

The 22-year-old adopted daughter told police that she had been in that position since May 24, and investigators said they found bruising on her leg, while her face was also swollen. It was not clear whether the teen who discovered her sister was living at the house at the time or was otherwise unaware of the alleged abuse.

“She knew her sister has special needs, and not hearing from her was concerning,” Gagliardi said

Gagliardi said investigators were initially able to speak with the alleged victim at the scene, but now they’re focusing on ensuring she gets proper medical care before interviewing her again.

“We have to make sure she’s treated and evaluated,” Gagliardi said.

He said the situation is very sensitive due to the woman’s special needs and the condition she allegedly was left in while chained to a bedframe with the mattress pulled onto the floor.

“It’s a very challenging incident,” Gagliardi said. “We try to do a lot with special needs (groups) … and we try to do a lot to train troopers about how to handle people with special needs.”

Dewitt left the house before troopers arrived, but she was eventually arrested following a traffic stop on the Fort Pitt Bridge in Pittsburgh. Gagliardi said they were able to locate her using her cellphone’s location, and they even spoke to her on the phone while trying to get her to stop.

“The mother was maybe having some sort of mental episode. … It took a little time for her to stop,” Gagliardi said, adding that the situation did not involve a police chase.

State police at the Belle Vernon barracks are leading the investigation and secured a search warrant to look through Dewitt’s vehicle, which Gagliardi indicated may contain a box with the handcuffs and chains.

In addition to the neglect of a disabled person charge, Dewitt is facing counts of endangering the welfare of a care dependent person, neglect of a care dependent person, simple assault, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and evidence tampering. District Judge Richard Kasunic II arraigned her on the charges Wednesday morning, and she was sent to the Fayette County jail without bond to await her preliminary hearing, which is tentatively scheduled for June 12 at 10:30 a.m.

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