Prosecutor: Caged Vestaburg woman denied solid food, fed with baby bottle
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Leona M. Biser is accused of keeping her care-dependent sister in a cage-like structure at 29 Sixth St., the right side of this duplex, in Centerville’s Vestaburg section.
Leona Mae Biser
VESTABURG – A care-dependent woman who was kept in a wooden cage by her sister in Centerville was denied solid food and fed milk from a baby bottle, court records allege.
The diet left Loretta Lancaster, 53, with a health condition that made her unable to swallow a healthy diet after she was rescued Nov. 22 from the home she shared in the village of Vestaburg with her sister, the affidavit indicates.
The state attorney general’s office said investigators were “overcome with stench” in the living room in Leona M. Biser’s duplex at 29 Sixth St. after she invited them inside to perform a welfare check on her sister.
An officer found Lancaster “in a kneeling position inside an enclosed area” that contained a dirty mattress on the floor, court records show.
“The enclosure was made of lumber and plywood and had a gate with a latching device on the outside,” an officer noted in the affidavit.
The discovery, and other evidence, prompted the office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro to file charges Wednesday of neglect of a care-dependent person, reckless endangerment, false imprisonment and unlawful restraint against Biser.
Biser, 51, is free on $50,000 unsecured bond set by District Judge Joshua Kanalis.
Centerville had given Biser until Wednesday to move out of the residence after discovering her water had been disconnected, a borough official said.
It was not immediately known Thursday if Biser had found a new home, Centerville police said. She had yet to secure an attorney to represent her in the case, online court records suggest.
The investigation resulted from an anonymous tip to the state Department of Human Services regarding allegations that Biser had been neglecting her sister and their residence was in deplorable condition, court records show.
The case was referred to the state’s Adult Protective Services, which sent an investigator to Biser’s residence Aug. 23, according to the affidavit supporting an application for a warrant to search the home.
Biser invited him into the residence where he discovered Lancaster unable to speak and dressed inappropriately. The investigator began seeking guardianship for Lancaster after he noted the poor conditions of the residence, which included bugs and garbage stacked up outside.
Washington County Judge John DiSalle granted permanent guardianship of Lancaster to the Jewish Family and Community Services in Pittsburgh, which has reported progress on her health and ability to stand, court records show.
Lancaster was taken Nov. 22 by ambulance to Mon Valley Hospital in Carroll Township where she was doing well five days later and “was no problem to care for,” court records state. She also suffered from a condition that resulted in the breakdown of her muscles.
She arrived there dehydrated and with a urinary tract infection, poor hygiene and wounds and warts on her body, the affidavit indicates.
While it was not immediately known how long Lancaster had been kept in the cage, she moved in with her sister in August 2018 following the death of their mother.
Lancaster had been living in neighboring East Bethlehem Township on Garner Avenue in another house that was discovered in deplorable condition.
The township received that house under a conservatorship granted last month by county Judge Michael Lucas in order to have it demolished under blight conditions and a severe cockroach infestation, court records show.
Meanwhile, the search warrant was executed Dec. 17 leading investigators to evidence that Lancaster had been missing her doctor’s appointments and wasn’t receiving her proper doses of medication for a seizure disorder.
On an earlier visit, Biser allegedly admitted to keeping her sister in the enclosure to prevent her from falling and injuring herself, court records show.
“Biser advised that Lancaster had spinal meningitis when she was young and that her brain was fried,” an investigator noted in charging documents.
Biser is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. Jan. 24 before Kanalis.