Candy Lawson Wasn't So Sweet To Her Disabled Sister She Kept Locked In A Closet

[lithiumgirl]

Rejected an offer .... Hark. Stupid woman.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

Jurors in the Candy Lawson trial got a feel for exactly how small the closet was where the Corunna woman's sister was locked up for seven years.

They also heard from authorities in Kentucky, where Lawson's brother died in her care under similar circumstances years ago.

Lawson is facing charges of unlawful imprisonment, abuse and embezzlement related to Dianna's case.

Police found Lawson's special needs sister Dianna locked in a closet in Lawson's home in July 2015. Dianna weighed only 74 pounds at the time.

Lawson's legal team has argued over the past couple days that the closet was sufficient for Dianna while Lawson's home was undergoing some construction work.

He showed the jury a mockup of the closet in the courtroom using a measured posterboard and buckets from Home Depot. The closet measured 7 feet by 4-foot-2 by 8 feet. One five-gallon bucket was found half full of human waste in the closet with Dianna the night police freed.

Jurors also heard allegations from Kentucky authorities about an adoptive brother who died there years before Dianna was found nearly starved to death.

Lawson took her adoptive siblings Dianna and Justin Churchill into her care when her mother died 10 years ago. Neither can speak or hear and both are considered mentally challenged.

Justin Churchill died in 2009 under Lawson's care from similar circumstances. Kentucky police officers testified that he was just 60 pounds when he died.

Prosecutors showed disturbing photos of Justin and drew similarities to Dianna's condition when she was found in Shiawassee County. Police from Kentucky said Justin was also little more than skin and bones.

Lawson claimed her adoptive brother was suffering from the flu when he died and that's why his weight withered to only 60 pounds. She told detectives Justin was allowed to eat whatever he wanted whenever he felt like eating.

However, his death certificate listed malnourishment as a contributing factor to his death.

Candy Lawson's attorney, Amy Husted, says she is innocent.

"This has been very hard on her because she truly loved Dianna and Justin and she feels that she was taking care of them, doing the best that she could to take care of them," Husted said.

http://www.abc12.com/content/news/C...set-brothers-death-in-Kentucky-444536113.html

 

[thatsmallgrl]

September 26, 2017

A Michigan woman who authorities say kept her disabled adult sister locked in a closet has been convicted of charges including unlawful imprisonment.

A Shiawassee County jury on Monday also found Candy Lawson guilty of vulnerable adult abuse and embezzlement.

Prosecutors say she stole disability benefits that were intended for her sister. Lawson faces prison time when sentenced Oct. 27.

Lawson’s lawyer plans an appeal.

http://www.torontosun.com/2017/09/2...g-disabled-sister-in-closet-stealing-benefits
[doublepost=1509361791,1506551514][/doublepost]October 27, 2017

Candy Lawson will spend up to 20 years in prison for locking her adoptive sister with special needs inside a closet in her Corunna home.

After a two-week trial, a Shiawassee County jury convicted Lawson of abuse, false imprisonment and embezzlement on Sept. 25 related to how she cared for her sister, Dianna.

Lawson kept her sister, Dianna, locked in a closet for seven years inside her home until a contractor doing renovations discovered the situation in 2015. Dianna, who cannot speak or hear, weighed just 71 pounds when a police officer found her.

Lawson also was accused of misusing government benefits meant to help take care of Dianna. An account set up to receive the funds had been drained to almost nothing, but Lawson could not account for how it was spent.

A judge handed down the longest sentence possible against Lawson on Friday. She will spend 10 to 15 years in prison for the abuse and false imprisonment charges and an additional 40 to 60 months for the embezzlement charge.

http://www.abc12.com/content/news/C...e-for-locking-sister-in-closet-453630013.html

 

[Runecire]

And she'll still be in a bigger closet than what she kept her sister in.