A Philadelphia mom was arrested Sunday for abandoning her quadriplegic son in the woods for days while she went to visit her boyfriend in Maryland, WABC-TV reported.
Nyia Parker, 41, faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and more after her 21-year-old son was found Friday night suffering from dehydration and a possible infection in a wooded area in Philadelphia's Cobble Creek section.
Parker is currently being held in Maryland pending her extradition to Pennsylvania.
"It's just unbelievable how we found him last night," Lieutenant John Walker of the Philadelphia Police told WABC-TV on Saturday. "It's just heartbreaking to see how another human, especially a mother, could treat him like that."
Investigators say Parker laid her wheelchair-bound son, who has cerebral palsy and cannot talk, on the ground in the woods and left him with a blanket and a Bible.
The man wasn't found until a week later by a man walking along the area's trail.
Walker said they are concerned a cut on the victim's back could lead to infection.
"He's also suffering from dehydration, and some malnutrition issues that they are working on. Also from weather conditions, his eyes are having some issues and they're having a doctor come in and look at those," the lieutenant said.
When Parker was located in Maryland, she allegedly denied the allegations and made it seem like her son was with her and her boyfriend the entire time.
Parker also has a 16-year-old son who is now being cared for by relatives. His older brother is recovering at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
