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Sheriff: Woman Sat on Toilet for 2 Years

Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:19 PM EDT
us-news, woman, bathroom, woman-in
Associated Press
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— 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."

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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  • Groups: none
  • Regions: United States
  • Public Discussion (32)
Apollo

I saw this on Nip/tuck but that woman was stuck on a sofa.

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:35 PM EDT
lauhal

There was a woman in Florida who was unable to walk because she was so heavy. She sat on the couch for so long, that the material grew into her skin. I can't recall where I read it, but I'm gonna go look.

  • 3 votes
#1.1 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:33 PM EDT
lauhal

Here's the link.

  • 3 votes
#1.2 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:35 PM EDT
Glinda

1) Gross!
2) What, no picture?

Workers said the home was filthy, and Grinds, 40, was too large to get up from the couch, even to use the bathroom.

Ewwww

  • 4 votes
#1.3 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:51 PM EDT
Tedd Riggs

1) Gross! 2) What, no picture?

No Smell-O-Vision either ? Geez I'd bet someone on Digg has it :-)

  • 2 votes
#1.4 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:50 PM EDT
Roy Batty

Remind me to never tell the wife to "sit on it."

  • 2 votes
#1.5 - Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:22 AM EDT
Reply
replytoj001

What can you possibly say about a situation like this?????

replytoj001

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:20 PM EDT
DamianKD

I wonder if she's been washing her hands this whole time.

  • 1 vote
#2.1 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:27 PM EDT
Reply
Restso

Uh... weird.

    Reply#3 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:26 PM EDT
    Tedd Riggs

    Brian lives in Kansas, maybe he could do a live interview ? This is just too weird....

    • 1 vote
    Reply#4 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 4:41 PM EDT
    Elliot SpitzerDeleted
    Morwynd

    First of all:

    W

    T

    F

    Second of all, what "charges" are being considered here? She sat there of her own volition, by all accounts (including hers). I guess you could argue he should've called for help sooner? But is failure to do so in violation of any law? It's not like he's her guardian, or her life was in danger or something.

    • 6 votes
    Reply#6 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:28 PM EDT
    Spooky Boyfriend

    ...so he fed her? Nobody noticed she was gone for 2 years? Nobody else noticed that this guy had a woman on his toilet for two years? This makes no sense at all.

    • 4 votes
    #6.1 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:42 PM EDT
    Reply
    L Keith Lutz

    Honestly one of the most bizarre things I have ever read about in my life.

    • 5 votes
    Reply#7 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:49 PM EDT
    Dr Know

    How long should you allow someone to sit on your toilet before you report them?

    • 6 votes
    Reply#8 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:35 PM EDT
    Tedd Riggs

    Depends on how many bathrooms in the house. If only one, I would report it real fast....

    • 5 votes
    #8.1 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:49 PM EDT
    Dr Know

    Would it be considered torture to set the food on a TV tray just outside the bathroom door?

    • 3 votes
    #8.2 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:18 PM EDT
    Tedd Riggs

    That might be pushing the envelop just a little bit unless you also tied a string on to it.

    • 1 vote
    #8.3 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:48 PM EDT
    Reply
    Glinda

    Sergeant Whipple? I hope she didn't squeeze the Charmin!

    charmin commercial.

    • 5 votes
    Reply#9 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:23 PM EDT
    Tedd Riggs

    I hope the toilet didn't overflow....

    • 1 vote
    #9.1 - Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:53 PM EDT
    Reply
    chasencash

    Okay wierd wierd wierd but it was her choice. Some people actually feel safe in four walls - her boyfriend supported her choice, admittedly to her detriment because her legs are wrecked and she let her skin grow around the toilet - perhaps he thought she was being sensible enough to actually get up off the toilet. Who knows - wierd but criminal?

    • 1 vote
    Reply#10 - Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:44 AM EDT
    M. Remmers

    So someone got stuck in a toilet for two years? Big deal. I lived in West Virginia for four. Top that.

    • 5 votes
    Reply#11 - Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:49 AM EDT
    Tedd Riggs

    I lived in West Virginia for four.

    Whoa....4 yrs, no power, no Internet, outhouses, going to the stream for water.....that is scary ! :-)

    • 2 votes
    #11.1 - Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:18 AM EDT
    Reply
    L Keith Lutz

    I wonder what this would be called, in medical terms. Surely to goodness there is something that desribes this behavior.

      Reply#12 - Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:06 AM EDT
      Tedd Riggs

      I think they would have to add a new one in the DSM for this one....

      • 1 vote
      #12.1 - Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:47 AM EDT
      Gwenny

      I'd call it a form of extreme agoraphobia: an anxiety disorder, often precipitated by the fear of having a panic attack in a setting from which there is no easy means of escape. As a result, sufferers of agoraphobia may avoid public and/or unfamiliar places. In severe cases, the sufferer may become confined to their home, experiencing difficulty traveling from this "safe place." * or perhaps, Separation Anxiety Disorder: Developmentally inappropriate and excessive anxiety concerning separation from home or from those to whom the individual is attached, as evidenced by three (or more) of the following.**

      I have an odd manifestation of one of those disorders. I am terrified to go to new places alone. I do it anyway, if there's a good reason. But if I think I'm lost I often have panic attacks. It's not the being around new or strange people, I like people. It's the being alone in a strange place, especially driving alone. The last time I drove more than a few miles from home was Vinemeet West and it is likely I will not drive anywhere for the next year. ::sigh:: My chest tightens up just thinking about it.

      • 3 votes
      #12.2 - Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:54 PM EDT
      Tedd Riggs

      But if I think I'm lost I often have panic attacks.

      Ever thought of getting a GPS ? They are pretty cheap now and will tell you exactly where you are and one button push and it will tell you exactly how to get home again.
      That helped a friend of mine that had a hard time going more then a few miles away from home as he also had the same type of panic feeling.

      I kinda agree on the agoraphobia on this one. However I heard they are thinking of pressing charges against the boyfriend, I am not sure what kind however.

      • 2 votes
      #12.3 - Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:45 PM EDT
      Gwenny

      Ever thought of getting a GPS ? They are pretty cheap now and will tell you exactly where you are and one button push and it will tell you exactly how to get home again.

      It's on my list. In the short term, I make my son do all the driving. :D

      • 2 votes
      #12.4 - Fri Mar 14, 2008 1:55 PM EDT
      Tedd Riggs

      Ah...good idea...Make the kid work :-)

      • 3 votes
      #12.5 - Fri Mar 14, 2008 2:02 PM EDT
      Reply
      Gwenny

      Discover explains How the Heck Did a Woman Become Fused to a Toilet Seat?

        Reply#13 - Tue Mar 18, 2008 7:53 PM EDT
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