Son ordered held on $250,000 bail in death of emaciated mother

When police found the body of Ruby Wise in her Black Diamond home, the 88-year-old was covered in bed sores and so emaciated they could see her left shoulder blade exposed through her skin. Weighing only 70 pounds, she was dressed only in a hospital robe and soiled adult diaper. Flies had begun to gather around her lips.

Wise's son Christopher, 41, was arrested Wednesday for investigation of first-degree manslaughter. He was ordered held today on $250,000 bail.

Christopher Wise, his mother's sole caretaker for two years, had called King County sheriff's deputies to the home Monday after watching her die, holding her hand as she struggled to breathe, according to the certificate of probable cause.

Wise's neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said he'd heard screaming coming from the house in the 27400 block of Southeast Green River Gorge Road every day for about two weeks.

"She was very vocal," said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified. "We heard her — not often, but more as she got worse."

Christopher Wise came to the neighbor's house to warn him about his mother's moaning, explaining that she had dementia, the neighbor said.

Detectives found earplugs at the scene, which Wise used to block the sound of his mother moaning, according to the certificate of probable cause.

Wise told police he recognized the signs of dementia because two of his friends' parents suffered from it, according to the certificate. Wise told police his mother also had an equilibrium problem, but she was not on any prescription medicine and had not seen a medical professional in two years.

Wise had lived in the house with his mother since September 2004.

He was a solitary, secluded man who rarely left the house except to go to the store or fish at a nearby lake, the neighbor said.

Lindsay Toler: 206-464-2463 or ltoler@seattletimes.com