Aggravated Abuse of a Vulnerable Adult & Manslaughter Charges Filed Against Daughter

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced manslaughter and aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult charges filed against Lori Meers related to the death of her mother, W.P., in Cottonwood Heights.  
 
On March 10, 2025, police were called to Intermountain Medical Center for an elder abuse investigation. It had been reported that W.P.'s twin sister, R.M., had gone to visit her sister that day at the home where W.P. lived with her daughter, the defendant. W.P. was nonverbal and had dementia. When R.M. arrived, she found W.P. covered in feces, which doctors told police were a few days old. W.P. also had bed sores, was hypothermic, and had several other medical concerns, including severe sepsis with septic shock. W.P. died on March 19, 2025. The manner of death was determined to be natural; the immediate cause of death was determined to be septic shock due to acute pancreatitis. 
 
Through the investigation, detectives learned that W.P. had lived with her daughter, who was her primary caretaker, for a long time. R.M. didn't usually stay for long when she visited W.P. because the house was not clean. R.M. wanted to find a permanent care facility, but the defendant was not following through. A few weeks prior, the defendant had told R.M. that she had called the elder abuse hotline on herself because she was tired and not able to take care of W.P. like she wanted to. A week later, R.M. followed up with the defendant, but the defendant told R.M. that the elder abuse people never got back to her. R.M. then waited three weeks to go over to visit W.P. When R.M. arrived on March 10, the defendant wasn't home, but W.P.’s nephew L.M. was there. R.M. couldn't find W.P. initially but eventually found W.P. on the downstairs floor with a sheet over her buttocks. R.M. put her hand on W.P.'s back, and it was ice cold to the touch. At that point, the defendant walked in and told R.M. that W.P. had not eaten in four days. L.M. admitted that the defendant did not reach out for external help like she had told R.M. R.M. then called 911 and handed the phone to the defendant. R.M. told police that when paramedics arrived, every time they moved W.P., she cried out in pain.  R.M. told detectives that when she saw W.P. three and a half weeks before this, she could talk, and at Christmas, W.P. was still moving around and in good spirits.   
  
The defendant is charged with one count of second-degree felony manslaughter and one count of second-degree felony aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult.  
 
"We have a legal, ethical, and moral responsibility to take care of and support our vulnerable adult elders. When someone is criminally negligent, abuses or causes harm to them, we will hold them accountable for such abuse.   If you are struggling to care for an elderly person in your life, we ask that you reach out for help, and if others offer it to you, please accept it," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. "We appreciate the thorough investigation conducted by detectives at the Cottonwood Heights Police Department that made it so these charges could be filed. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law." 
 
Utah is a mandatory reporter state. This means that any person who has reason to believe that a vulnerable adult is being abused, neglected, or exploited must immediately notify Adult Protective Services or the nearest law enforcement office. If what you see is an emergency, please call 911. You can also report suspected abuse directly to Utah's hotline to report abuse/neglect of seniors and adults with disabilities, which is 800-371-7897 (M-F, 8a-5p). You can also report it online 24/7 at https://daas.utah.gov/adult-protective-services/