WARREN, Mich. – The husband of an obese Warren woman who died days after being pulled from a filthy apartment by a hazmat crew has been charged in her death.
The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office said 37-year-old Michael Dewayne Brooks is charged with second-degree abuse of a vulnerable adult, a four-year felony. Brooks received a $10,000 on Thursday and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 15 for his preliminary examination.
His wife, 40-year-old Yolanda Reese-Brooks, weighed nearly 400 pounds when she was rushed to a hospital on Oct. 16 from the Warren apartment she lived in with her husband and four children -- a 13-year-old, an 11-year-old and 2-year-old twins.
According to police reports, Reese-Brooks had been immobile in the home and was found covered in her own waste.
Brooks told police he had allowed his wife to lie in that state for at least eight or nine days.
She died six days later in the hospital.
Police said Brooks had been the primary caretaker for his wife, who had suffered a crushed pelvis and ruptured bladder in a February 2011 car crash.
Police also said the home was uninhabitable. Police found no beds or mattresses for the children and the refrigerator was empty except for spoiled meat on the bottom shelf.
The four children have been placed temporarily with the victim's sister. Protective Services workers are scheduling a hearing to determine their permanent placement.
Yolanda Reese-Brooks was rushed to a hospital on Oct. 16 from the Warren apartment she lived in with her husband and four children.