An arrest warrant has been issued for the mother of a quadriplegic man left in the woods for several days near a Philadelphia park, authorities said.
Police said Nyia Parler reportedly left her 21-year-old son — who has cerebral palsy — lying in leaves and covered with a blanket, next to a wheelchair and Bible while she left town.
The man was found on Friday night near Cobbs Creek Park.
Police think that he was left there between the time he and his mother were seen together on Easter Sunday and before she boarded a bus to Maryland on Monday to visit her boyfriend, Philadelphia Police Department Southwest Detective Division Lieutenant John Walker said.
Walker said the victim was found around the corner from their home and described the scenario authorities believe to have taken place this way: “She pushes him about 150 yards [137m] from the highway into the wooded area, takes him out of wheelchair, lays him on the ground, puts a blanket over him and leaves a Bible with him, and then just walks away.”
While he was exposed to the elements, the young man was “completely defenseless” in an area with wild animals, with no water and in cold, damp weather, Walker said.
“It is only by the grace of God that he survived this. Amazing,” he said.
Contacted in Maryland after the man’s school became concerned, the woman told relatives and authorities that he was with her, Walker said.
“Obviously, her statements made during the week were not truthful,” he said.
However, her boyfriend assumed other relatives were caring for her son and “was in shock when he learned what happened,” Walker said.
A 16-year-old son also residing with the family is now in the care of other relatives, Walker said.
Parler, 41, of Philadelphia, is to face charges, including aggravated assault, kidnapping, neglect of a care-dependent person, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment, police said.
Walker said the son was hospitalized with dehydration, malnutrition, a deep cut on his back and possible eye injuries, but he appeared to be improving.
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