Hartsdale Man Charged With Manslaughter In Death Of His 71-Year-Old Mother

A 45-year-old Hartsdale man has been indicted on charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the neglect death of his 71-year-old mother, according to Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore.

James Austin of 300 Chatterton Parkway, Hartsdale, was charged after an investigation of the death of Ida Austin, who was found dead in their private house in Hartsdale at 9:09 a.m. on July 3. Austin had called 911, saying he found his mother “unresponsive.”

“This indictment alleges that this defendant, a forty-five year old man who was the principal caregiver for his elderly mother, consciously ignored her declining mental and physical health leaving her unattended for hours at a time in squalid conditions,” said DiFiore. “His total abdication of responsibility for the situation that had been on going resulted in utterly abhorrent and deplorable conditions in the home and the death of his mother.”

James Austin lived with his mother and his accused of leaving her alone, without care, when he went off to his job at Westchester County Airport. Ida Austin had worked in the home health care industry and was on Social Security.

DiFiore  said Greenburgh town police officers found Ida Austin lying on a couch, dead, with rigor mortis having set in. She was covered in maggots and other insects that were infesting the area where she was found.  DiFiore said the body was lying in excrement and urine, naked from the waist down revealing large open bed sores. She was partially covered in a filthy blanket and wearing a dirty shirt.

DiFiore said the woman  was also extremely emaciated and dehydrated, with garbage surrounding the body.

The body was removed to the morgue and an investigation into the death commenced.

James Austin was arrested by Greenburgh police Thursday night. Bail was set at $200,000 and he remains in custody. He is scheduled to appear at a hearing on Nov. 15. He faces a maximum of 5 to 15 years in state prison on the top count of the indictment.

Assistant District Attorney Lana Hochheiser, Deputy Chief of the Major Case Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Joyce Miller will prosecute the case.