FALL RIVER — A Fall River man allowed his 91-year-old mother to soak for weeks in her own feces and urine, with the elderly woman developing severe bed sores and a widespread infection in her bloodstream, police allege.

The victim — Olivia Cruz of Fall River — died Wednesday morning after a short stay at St. Anne’s Hospital. An autopsy is scheduled today to determine the cause of death.

Her son, 56-year-old Filip Cruz of 41 Douglas St., was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 cash bail after his arraignment Wednesday in Fall River District Court.


Cruz, who authorities said was his mother’s primary caretaker, is charged with permitting injury to an elderly or disabled person, and permitting serious injury to an elderly or disabled person.

"He left his mother to sit and rot in her own waste," Assistant District Attorney Steven E. Gagne said during bail arguments.

Cruz was arrested earlier this year on charges of leaving more than 100 threatening telephone messages at a Fall River church, and was found Wednesday by a court doctor to have a delusional disorder.

On the same day as Cruz’s arraignment, five members of a Fall River family appeared for a pretrial hearing in district court for a similar case: They are charged with neglecting an 81-year-old woman who died in July after being left to soak in her own blood and waste for a month.

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