VENANGO CO., Pa. (EYT) — A Venango County man is facing neglect charges related to the death of a care-dependent woman.
Court documents indicate 70-year-old Harvey Junior Sliker, of Utica, is scheduled to stand for a preliminary hearing in Venango County Central Court in front of Magisterial District Judge Matthew T. Kirtland at 3:00 p.m. on November 18.
He faces the following charges:
– Neglect Of Care-Dependent Person, Misdemeanor 1
– Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Misdemeanor 2
The charges stem from an investigation into the death of a care-dependent woman that occurred in May of 2019.
According to a criminal complaint, Harvey Junior Sliker was responsible for the care of his sister-in-law, a known 49-year-old care-dependent woman with Down’s Syndrome, autism, and a seizure disorder.
Sliker failed to provide proper care, according to the complaint.
On May 12, 2019, Sliker gave the victim a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and left the victim unattended with the sandwich in her bedroom, knowing that the victim had choking risks due to issues with solid food and behavioral issues. The victim then choked on the sandwich and died as a result, the complaint states.
The victim was found on the floor of her bedroom, unclothed, with several diapers on the floor near her, the complaint notes.
Her room reportedly had black plastic sheeting on the floor and dried feces smeared on the walls, which was related to her behavioral issues.
Sliker reportedly told police that he had given her small squares of the sandwich at a time and sat by her while she ate. He said that he gave her all of the sandwich, then gave her Kool-Aid to drink and she ate and drank everything while he was there and didn’t show signs of distress, the complaint states.
Venango County Coroner Christina Rugh attended the autopsy on the victim and concluded the victim choked on the sandwich, and the manner of death was accidental, according to the complaint.
Rugh also indicated she felt there was negligence in care as the victim needed to be watched while eating, and the evidence indicated she was not, as there was evidence she was still eating when she choked and no evidence that she had any Kool-Aid, the complaint indicates.
Following the results of the autopsy, police then spoke to Sliker again, at which time he reportedly admitted to giving the victim the cut-up sandwich and leaving her alone with it. When asked what he thought would happen, he stated, “Well, I didn’t think,” according to the complaint.
The complaint also notes the victim’s later toxicology report indicated she had fentanyl in her system, which she was not prescribed, and the source of the fentanyl remains unexplained.
The charges were filed against Sliker through Magisterial District Judge Matthew T. Kirtland’s office on October 15, 2020.
