111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
White Plians, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 995-3586
Fax: (914) 995-2116

 

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that James Austin (DOB 09/17/65) of 300 Chatterton Parkway, Hartsdale, New York, was sentenced today to an indeterminate sentence of one to three years in state prison on his June 2012 conviction after a jury trial of:

  • one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony, in connection with the death of his 71 year old mother, Ida Austin.

On July 3, 2011, at approximately 9:09 a.m., Town of Greenburgh Police arrived at 300 Chatterton Parkway, a private house in Hartsdale in response to a 911 call from James Austin, who indicated that he had found his mother “unresponsive”.
Uniformed officers found the victim lying on a couch, deceased, with rigor mortis having set in. The victim was covered in maggots and other insects that were infesting the area where she was found.  She was lying in excrement and urine, naked from the waist down revealing large open bed sores. She was partially covered in a filthy blanket and wearing a dirty shirt.

She was also extremely emaciated and dehydrated.

There was garbage surrounding the deceased and the house was filled with thousands of maggots.

The victim was removed to the morgue.

A systematic and multi-faceted investigation into the death by detectives from the Greenburgh Police commenced.

The cause of death was found to have been starvation, dehydration, infection and stage four bed sores.

The defendant was subsequently arrested by Greenburgh Police.

“This defendant, as the sole caregiver, had the legal and moral responsibility to care for his mother. Her declining physical and mental condition made her totally dependant on the defendant. His abject failure to provide adequate food, water, hygiene and general care along with the abhorrent conditions that existed in the home, along with his concerted efforts to prevent others from getting her help resulted in this tragic and ultimate outcome,” said District Attorney Janet DiFiore after the defendant was sentenced.

Assistant District Attorney Lana Hochheiser, of the Career Criminal Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Joyce Miller of the Superior Court Trial Division prosecuted the case.

James Austin

James Austin