Sheriff: Woman sat on toilet for 2 years

[Jeff]

He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom. "And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow.'"

Sheriff: Woman sat on toilet for 2 years

By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer 2 hours, 33 minutes ago

WICHITA, Kan. - Authorities are considering charges in the bizarre case of a woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for two years — so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time the boyfriend finally called police.

Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the 35-year-old Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat. She initially refused emergency medical services but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

Whipple said investigators planned to present their report Wednesday to the county attorney, who will determine whether any charges should be filed against the woman's 36-year-old boyfriend.

"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."

He told investigators he brought his girlfriend food and water, and asked her every day to come out of the bathroom.

"And her reply would be, `Maybe tomorrow,'" Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."

The boyfriend called police on Feb. 27 to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend," Whipple said, adding that he never explained why it took him two years to call.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.

She was reported in fair condition at a hospital in Wichita, about 150 miles southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Authorities said they did not know if she was mentally or physically disabled.

Police have declined to release the couple's names, but the house where authorities say the incident happened is listed in public records as the residence of Kory McFarren. No one answered his home phone number.

The case has been the buzz of Ness City, said James Ellis, a neighbor.

"I don't think anybody can make any sense out of it," he said.

Ellis said he had known the woman since she was a child but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

He said she had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up. At one time the woman worked for a long-term care facility, he said, but he did not know what kind of work she did there.

"It really doesn't surprise me," Ellis said. "What surprises me is somebody wasn't called in a bit earlier."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080312/ap_ ... n_bathroom

[OP ED]

That is fucking-the-most-bizarre thing I've read today. Or yesterday for that matter. Where do you get this shit Jeff?

[Jeff]

That is fucking-the-most-bizarre thing I've read today. Or yesterday for that matter. Where do you get this shit Jeff?

dlisted.com

Some days it feels like a waste of time reading anything else.


Remember "sloth" in the movie Seven? That was scary. "Maybe tomorrow" scares me more.

[OP ED]

Thanks.

Somehow I was having this vision of you watching multiple screens or something.

Is there even a word for the too-crazy-to-realize-that-you're-not-supposed-to-stay-on-the-toilet-for-two-years disorder?

What really gets me though is the dude with the too-crazy-to-realize-that-your-girlfriend-is-not-supposed-to-stay-on-the-toilet-for-two-years disorder.

Wait. Wichita, Kansas. Nevermind. the fucking really crazy people are always from the boring places.

[Jeff]

The strangest, almost Fortean part of the story is that the Sheriff's name is Bryan Whipple.

[OP ED]

I didn't even catch that. nice pic btw.

[Jeff]

Two-year toilet lurker identified
by Roxana Hegeman
March 13, 2008 06:40pm

A 35-year-old woman who sat on her boyfriend's toilet for so long that her body was stuck to the seat by the time he called US police had a phobia about leaving the bathroom, her boyfriend said.

"I didn't do this to her. It was her choice. She is an adult, she made her own decision. It was my fault I should have gotten help for her sooner - I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it," her boyfriend, Kory McFarren, said in a phone interview from their Ness City home.

The case drew nationwide attention after Ness County Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.

"We pried the toilet seat off with a pry bar and the seat went with her to the hospital," Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

McFarren, 36, said he can't be certain how long his girlfriend - who has now been identified as Pam Babcock - stayed in the bathroom because "time just went by so quick I can't pinpoint how long".

He said she had a phobia about leaving the bathroom because of beatings she received in her childhood.

"It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay - like it was a safe place for her," McFarren said.

But McFarren said she moved around in the bathroom during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations in there and had an otherwise normal relationship - except it all happened in the bathroom.

The boyfriend called police on February 27 to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend", Whipple said.

McFarren said he finally called police after he became worried because Babcock was acting groggy - like she didn't know what was going on, except she was awake.

What emergency responders found when they went into bathroom that day has left residents of this small western Kansas town buzzing, and law enforcement officials incredulous.

Police found the clothed woman sitting on the toilet, her sweat pants down to her mid-thigh. She was "somewhat disoriented," and her legs looked like they had atrophied, Whipple said.

"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," Whipple said. "It is hard to imagine. ... I still have a hard time imagining it myself."

She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced by responders and her boyfriend that she needed to be checked out at a hospital.

"She said that she didn't need any help, that she was OK and did not want to leave," he said.

Whipple said the county lawyer will determine whether any charges should be filed against McFarren.

McFarren, who works at an antique store, said he has been taking care of Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.

"And her reply would be, 'Maybe tomorrow'," Whipple said. "According to him, she did not want to leave the bathroom."

She was reported in fair condition yesterday at a hospital in Wichita, about 241 kilometres southeast of Ness City. Whipple said she has refused to cooperate with medical providers or law enforcement investigators.

Babcock was not even aware that she had no feeling in her legs when emergency responders arrived, McFarren said, adding that she has an infection in her legs that has damaged her nerves. He said there is a possibility she may wind up in a wheelchair.

McFarren said he will still be there to take care of her when she comes home.

James Ellis, a neighbour, said he had known the woman since she was a child, but that he had not seen her for at least six years.

"I don't think anybody can make any sense out of it," Ellis said.

Babcock had a tough childhood after her mother died at a young age and apparently was usually kept inside the house as she grew up, he said.

"It really doesn't surprise me," Ellis said. "What surprises me is somebody wasn't called in a bit earlier."

McFarren said his neighbours do not realise that there are a lot of people with phobias doing similar things.

He said false rumours have been circulating around town that he was somehow keeping her on the toilet against her will.

"Tell people," he said, "to leave me the hell alone."

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html

[Searcher08]

The woman was taken to the hospital looking flushed but doctors said they now had a handle on her condition. Earlier reports of her driving the medical staff round the bend were not true.

[compared2what?]

This reminds me of modern-day feral child and language-acquisition human-research subject, Genie, who spent most of her first thirteen years strapped to a toilet:

"Genie returned to the hospital and was handed over to a new foster parent, therapist David Rigler. His wife Marilyn became Genie's new teacher. Marilyn found the need to teach Genie unconventional lessons, for example in anger management. Genie would go into a fit of rage and act out against herself, so Marilyn taught Genie to "rage" through jumping, slamming doors, stomping her feet and generally "having a fit." Marilyn noted that Genie had a stronger command of vocabulary than most children acquiring language. During this period Genie was even able to discuss her years of abuse:[2]

MARILYN RIGLER: Where did you stay when you lived at home? Where did you live? Where did you sleep?
GENIE: Potty chair.
MARILYN RIGLER: You slept in the potty chair?
GENIE: Mmm-hmm. Potty chair. "

Lots of literature and books on her, but summary at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie_(feral_child)

Very, very sad.

[sunny]

I cannot get my head around this.

The poor lady suffered a horrible childhood and the trauma has led to a mental breakdown of the sort not many of us could identify with.

But the thing I cannot fathom is why the bf waited so long to get her help. Her legs had atrophied. Could he not see for some time that she was not moving, that she could not move?

Gawd, I hope if one day I take to my bed and pull the covers over my eyes my family would haul my ass outta there and get me some help.

After all, that's what loved ones do~help you if you can't help yourself.

[lunarose]

yikes! my aunt lives in a small town in iowa. she's spent the last three years not going out of the house, not answering the phone, etc. she finally agreed to get some help - that or the sherrif was going to haul her away, i'm not clear on why (ah, family communication...........).

it's not as easy as you might think to get a full-grown adult to do something against their will. obviously, the boyfriend has his own stuff.

[freemason9]

I don't think it would be all that bad, so long as you had a good selection of reading material . . .

[OP ED]

I don't think it would be all that bad, so long as you had a good selection of reading material . . .

I read kinda fast, so I'd need someone to go get more books for me too. Maybe some kind of trained monkey.

[Searcher08]

I don't think it would be all that bad, so long as you had a good selection of reading material . . .

I read kinda fast, so I'd need someone to go get more books for me too. Maybe some kind of trained monkey.

Maybe if you selected one at the local library, you could actually work as you read as you sit

[Sepka]

I honestly have to think that if he waited two years to say something to someone, he's probably got mental problems of his own.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/20/wom ... pstoryview

NESS CITY, Kansas (AP) -- A man whose girlfriend authorities say spent nearly two years in a bathroom in their house, sitting on the toilet so long that the seat adhered to her body, has been charged with mistreatment of a dependent adult.

Kory McFarren, 37, was charged Monday in Ness County District Court.

McFarren called the Ness County Sheriff's Office in late February to say something was wrong with his girlfriend. When authorities arrived at the home, they found Pam Babcock, 35, stuck to the toilet, which they think she had sat on for about a month.

McFarren told authorities that Babcock feared leaving the bathroom and may not have left it in two years, although said he was unsure how long she was in there. He said that he took her food and water daily, and that he repeatedly asked her to come out but that she usually replied "maybe tomorrow."

"The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner," McFarren told The Associated Press nearly a week ago.

Ness County Attorney Craig Crosswhite said the mistreatment charge most closely fit the situation.

"I looked at the statutes and spoke to the attorney general's office," he said. "This was a very unusual set of circumstances, and this is the law that most closely applied to the situation."

Authorities said Babcock sat on the toilet so long that open sores developed and caused her to become attached to the seat. Sheriff Bryan Whipple has said that he used a pry bar to remove the seat from the toilet, and that the woman was taken to the hospital with the seat still attached.

"She would have to be sleeping on the toilet," Whipple said.

Doctors at a Wichita, Kansas, hospital where Babcock was taken told McFarren that an infection in her legs had damaged her nerves and could leave her in a wheelchair. She was still at the hospital Wednesday night.

McFarren's first court appearance will be in April, Crosswhite said