An 82-year-old woman was left sitting in a chair at her South Carolina home for so long that she died, according to a Greenville County Coroner's findings.
Barbara Anne Beam, found dead at her Greenville home in January, died of a blood clot brought on by prolonged inactivity, Coroner Park Evans told WYFF. Police said that due to the position of the woman's body, it was clearly evident that she had been sitting in the chair for a long period of time.
Evans said Beam's death is homicide by neglect.
According to a Greenville police report, officers and paramedics were called to the home on Jan. 2 after Beam's sister found her in the chair with no pulse. Beam lived at the home with her sister and another adult.
The sister, who was not named, told police she monitored Beam throughout the night and that she tried giving her water he next morning but Beam could not swallow it, WYFF reported. The sister said she put ice chips in Beam's mouth and continued watching her.
A while later the sister said she found Beam slumped and unresponsive in the chair, according to the report.
It's not clear exactly how long the woman was left in the chair but her sister told police it was about six months.
"The decedent had significant ulcerations and wounds- pressure ulcers, essentially- on her legs from prolonged inactivity and prolonged time spent in a chair," Dr. James Fulcher, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, told the Greenville News.
Beam ultimately died of a pulmonary embolus, a blood clot that starts in the legs and spreads until it blocks the flow of blood from the heart.
Greenville police are now conducting a homicide investigation into Beam's death. No arrests have been made as of Friday.
