Boyfriend could face charges for partner's 2-year toilet ordeal

Published on Thursday 13 March 2008 21:05

A MAN whose girlfriend sat on his toilet for so long that her body became stuck to the seat should face charges of mistreatment, according to a sheriff.

Kory McFarren, from Kansas, let Pam Babcock, 35, sit on the seat for two years because she had a phobia about leaving the bathroom.

The case drew nationwide attention in the United States after Sheriff Bryan Whipple said it appeared the Ness City woman's skin had grown around the seat in the two years she apparently was in the bathroom.

"We pried the toilet seat off and the seat went with her to the hospital," Mr Whipple said. "The hospital removed it."

The sheriff has asked the county prosecutor to file charges against Mr McFarren, 36, for mistreatment of a dependent adult. "The unfortunate thing is this truly is a case of two people, in my opinion, with diminished mental capacity," Mr Whipple said.

Mr McFarren yesterday said: "The only thing I am guilty of is I didn't get her help sooner.

"I didn't do this to her. It was her choice. She is an adult; she made her own decision. It was my fault, I should have gotten help for her sooner – I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it."

Mr McFarren said he could not be certain how long Ms Babcock stayed in the bathroom because "time just went by so quick". He said she had a phobia about leaving the bathroom because of beatings she received in her childhood.

"It just kind of happened one day; she went in and had been in there a little while, and the next time it was a little longer. Then she got it in her head she was going to stay – like it was a safe place for her," he said.

But Mr McFarren said she had moved around the room during that time, bathed and changed into the clothes he brought her. He brought food and water to her. They had conversations in there and an otherwise normal relationship – except it was all in the bathroom.

Mr McFarren called police on 27 February to report that "there was something wrong with his girlfriend", Mr Whipple said.

Mr McFarren said he finally called the police after he became worried because Ms Babcock seemed groggy – he said it was as if she did not know what was going on, although she was awake.

Officers found Ms Babcock sitting on the toilet with her jogging bottoms down to mid-thigh.

She was "somewhat disoriented", and her legs looked as if they had atrophied, Mr Whipple said.

"She was not glued. She was not tied. She was just physically stuck by her body," the sheriff explained. "It is hard to imagine … I still have a hard time imagining it myself."

She initially refused emergency medical services, but was finally convinced that she needed to be checked out.

Mr Whipple said the prosecutor would determine whether any charges should be filed against Mr McFarren.

Mr McFarren, who works in an antique shop, said he has been taking care of Ms Babcock for the 16 years they have lived together. He insisted that he had tried to coax her out of the bathroom every day.

"And her reply would be, 'Maybe tomorrow'," Mr Whipple said.