Sentenced: Marylou Dewitt Charged With Chaining Intellectually Disabled Adopted Daughter To Bed

[Sugar Cookie]

Marylou Dewitt is charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, neglect of a care-dependent person, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, harassment, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint and tampering with evidence.

Troopers received a call at around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday from a female who said she found her adopted sister, who police say is intellectually disabled, screaming from a bedroom. She saw her chained and locked to the bed frame, with chains around her waist, neck and hands, Pennsylvania State Police in Belle Vernon said.

According to investigators, the victim said she was left there for five days in her own urine and feces, and without any access to water. She also said she hadn’t been allowed to take a shower or brush her teeth since Februrary.

Fayette County woman charged with chaining intellectually disabled adopted daughter to bed

A Fayette County woman is facing charges after she allegedly chained her adopted daughter, 22, to a bed.

www.wpxi.com

 

[DamagedGoods]

JFC don't adopt kids that you don't fucking want.

And if you adopt kids and get paid for it, you should have regular inspections done to ensure the children are getting the proper care. I know that wouldn't prevent all abuse, but surely it would cut it down. Of course, we don't want to fund those services, so this shit just keeps happening. Which is stupid, because surely the costs incurred by now having to charge this woman and bring her to trial and then most likely house her in prison is higher than the cost of hiring more people to properly monitor situations like this and prevent this level of abuse from continuing.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Jul 1, 2025​

Marylou Dewitt, 54, pleaded guilty to chaining her mentally disabled adult foster daughter to bed was sentenced to nine to 18 months in jail, but immediately released for time served.

In tears, Dewitt, told Fayette County President Judge Steve P. Leskinen that she hopes her foster daughter will one day forgive her.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her,” said Dewitt, who will also serve two years of probation as part of her sentence.

The sentencing came a year after, according to court documents, a teenage girl found the 22-year-old intellectually disabled woman restrained to a mattress and called the police.

Dewitt’s attorney, Shane Gannon, told the judge that Dewitt had been sick, overworked and needed to go to the hospital because she believed her husband was having a heart attack. He argued that her decision to restrain her foster child that night was a poor one made in a moment of crisis.

“There’s no excuse for what she did, but she had a mental breakdown. While that’s not an excuse, she has acknowledged it. She’s never been to jail before that night,” Gannon said.

Gannon also noted that Dewitt had previously fostered more than 10 children and provided several letters from her former foster children supporting her.

“This wasn’t a case of long-term abuse or prolonged mistreatment. It was a single, isolated incident,” Gannon said.

Leskinen acknowledged that Dewitt, who was a nurse at the time, made a poor choice.

“While the confinement she used is unacceptable, I can understand where she felt like she was at a complete loss with nothing but bad options to choose from,” the judge said.

Gannon told the judge Dewitt will lose her nursing license as a result of the conviction.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Gentile told the judge that the victim would not make an impact statement.

“I was told the victim is afraid of the defendant and is going through intensive therapy,” Gentile said, asking Leskinen to consider jail time for Dewitt.

According to Dewitt, her foster daughter has several intellectual disabilities, including ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder, and has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old.

Leskinen praised Dewitt for her efforts in the community, her career as a nurse, and her willingness to foster the victim even after she turned 18. He also criticized Dewitt’s decision to tie up her foster daughter on May 29, 2024.

The judge asked her, “What would have happened if there had been a house fire?”

Smithfield woman to serve probation for chaining up foster daughter

A Smithfield woman who pleaded guilty last week to chaining her mentally disabled adult foster daughter to bed was sentenced to nine to 18 months in jail on Monday, but immediately released for time served. In tears, Marylou Dewitt, 54, told Fayette County President Judge Steve P. Leskinen that...

www.heraldstandard.com

 

[runninfawn]

the way i see it well ok she thought her husband was having a heart attack but she took the time to chain her daughter to the bed?? if the chains weren't already attached to her bed she would have to first think about where the chain and locks were, go get them , attach them to the bed, fight her daughter cuz no one would just comply to having to be chained easily but she didn't think to use her phone and call someone to come stay with her daughter?? or simply take her along to the hospital?? come on now she is a nurse and more prepared to deal with emergencies like that than someone without proper training... my husband had a stroke i called the ambulance and stayed by his side till they arrived as soon as he was taken care of i got on the phone and found a sitter FOR MY DOG and waited till the sitter got here as i knew there was nothing i could do for my husband or even get any news of his condition till after he was assest and i am not a nurse but a mom that raised kids... was i a nervous wreck at the time? i sure was!!!!!

 

[Rebooto]

I don't believe for a moment it wasn't regularly. She wanted the money.