A blind, Arkansas woman with a rare genetic disorder was left to waste away by her 73-year-old adoptive father in a squalid, roach-infested house of horrors she shared with five handicapped siblings, police have charged.
The gruesome discovery of Caterina Whitten’s lifeless body was made by officers responding to a 911 call placed by her elderly widower caretaker in the early hours of January 3 from the house in Lowell.
Inside the rural home – about 200 miles northwest of Little Rock in the Ozarks near the Missouri border – police found nightmarish living conditions.
Caterina, 29, lay lifeless across a bed, her roach bite-ridden head hanging off the edge as the bugs crawled along the walls. She was wearing a soiled diaper and also had a gash on her forehead.
Investigators believe the positioning of her body was staged, a police report said.
Amid the scurrying cockroaches, police noted mysterious dried brown fluids on the bed and pillows, the box spring and on the walls. A responding detective ordered a rape kit after he observed a separate room with nothing in it but a bed, a woman’s dress and blood on the wall.
David Whitten had adopted all six of the adults – ranging in age from 23-29 and deemed incompetent by authorities – with his wife, a nurse who died, leaving him alone to care for the large special-needs brood.
He was arrested on a charge of negligent homicide and multiple counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person.
The house where Caterina’s body was found was littered with trash, feces and cockroaches
David Whitten was arrested in connection with his adopted daughter’s death
Scattered throughout the one-story home – which was flooded with sewage from a burst septic tank – were soiled adult diapers, trash and dog feces.
The dishwasher was full of rotting food buildup and cockroaches; the fridge also had molding food. The bathrooms – which only had one working toilet and soiled toilet paper wadded up in the out-of-order ones – had floors and sinks covered in filth.
After cops made their initial sweep through the disgusting house, detectives questioned David Whitten about his daughter’s horrifying death.
Whitten told police that Caterina, who was blind and had Fraser syndrome – a lived in the home with six of her adopted siblings, all of whom had disabilities.
She had also been diagnosed with Fraser syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that can result in fused eyelids, missing or under-developed extremities and kidney issues.
Whitten told police that Caterina had been healthy up until Christmas Day. Her siblings – four men and a woman with conditions including Down syndrome and severe autism – tried to bring her downstairs to open presents, but she collapsed to the floor and refused to move.
He claimed that Caterina frequently went through periods where she wouldn’t eat, so he initially didn’t think anything of her behavior. And he said that he gave her Boost calorie and protein shakes but police found no evidence of those pre-made drinks in the home.
When asked why he didn’t call for help sooner, given her listlessness, Whitten claimed that he didn’t want to ‘overuse’ the emergency room before admitting it was a ‘mistake’ not to call 911 while she was suffering.
Kyle Fairfax, a neighbor of the family, spoke to a local news outlet on the sadness he felt after the tragedy of Caterina’s death
Anthony Kirby, a resident in the area, spoke to local news after the tragic events unfolded leading to Caterina’s death
The septuagenarian also claimed that he didn’t know first responders could provide care for a patient in their homes.
But he did call two of his other sons – who do not live in the house – and they came to the home. One of his sons, Samuel, told authorities that Caterina had been in a wheelchair and was recently pushed by one of her adopted siblings.
Whitten was arrested on six counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person and later charged with negligent homicide. He was booked at Benton County Detention Center and held on a $25,000 bond.
The horrifying story shocked the small town of Lowell, leaving residents in disbelief.
‘I mean, to me, it sounds like a really sad story on both sides, to be honest,’ Anthony Kirby, a neighbor of the Whittens told local ABC affiliate, KHBS News.
‘You know, there’s a few aspects of it,’ another neighbor, Kyle Fairfax, told KHBS. ‘One, you never know what’s going on in any of the other houses that are on your street. Another is you don’t know what everybody else is going through.
‘You know, I feel so sorry for everybody in this situation.’
Fairfax added that there should be a greater emphasis on social welfare for people in vulnerable positions.
Despite the horrific findings inside the home, he said he had some compassion for Whitten, saying that sometimes people ‘bite off more than they can chew.’
Before Whitten’s arrest, his late wife, who was a nurse, took care of their six adopted disabled children. It wasn’t clear when they were adopted or when she died.
He told police that he struggled with their care after she was gone.
‘If you’re not ready to ask for help, then things can get out of control. Out of hand really fast,’ Fairfax said of the situation.
Caterina’s five other siblings were taken to a nearby hospital and placed in the care of Adult Protective Services.
Dailymail.com has reached out to the Benton County Coroner’s office and the Lowell Police Department for comment but did not immediately hear back.
