BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BATAVIA -- A Stonelick Township woman is guilty of assaulting and neglecting her husband, a multiple sclerosis patient who died last year in squalid conditions, according to a judge's verdict released Wednesday.
But Judge Robert Ringland found Donna Dunville not guilty of the most serious charge, involuntary manslaughter, a first-degree felony.
She was ordered to report to the Clermont County Probation Department. Sentencing was set for Nov. 13.
Ms. Dunville faces a maximum 18 months in jail and a fine of $5,000 on the two fourth-degree felony convictions, which are merged for sentencing because they stem from the same action. The neglect charge is failure to provide for a functionally impaired person. Ms. Dunville, 50, who did not testify in her defense, requested a non-jury trial.
Prosecutor Daniel Breyer told The Cincinnati Enquirer -->during the trial that Ms. Dunville did not want a jury trial because she did not want jurors to see prosecution photos of Robert Dunville, who was covered with serious bedsores and confined to a reclining chair when he died Aug. 27, 1997. The cause of death was bronchial pneumonia due to multiple sclerosis.
Authorities said it had been days since his clothes had been changed, weeks since he'd been bathed and months since he had received medical treatment.
There was no electricity or running water in the home, which was overrun with stray animals and cats.
Judge Ringland's 13-page verdict, in substantiating the neglect charge, cited evidence that Mr. Dunville was left alone locked in the home for long periods.
But Ms. Dunville, in an argument bolstered by relatives, said her husband insisted on living at home instead of a hospital or care facility, and that he did not permit his wife to adequately care for him. She earlier acknowledged in court she could have provided better care for her husband.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, often progressive disease resulting from inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
Judge Ringland ruled not guilty on the first count because the bedsores, for which Ms. Dunville was accountable, did not directly contribute to the pneumonia that killed her husband.
The judge also noted in Ms. Dunville's favor that a year before his death, Mr. Dunville was visited by Clermont County Senior Services and found to be in reasonably good condition. The visit was prompted by a call from Mr. Dunville's daughter.
The investigator left a business card with Mr. Dunville, who declined help. He never called.
Judge Ringland on Wednesday declined to comment until after sentencing.
