Pennsylvania man accused of causing girlfriend’s death by severe neglect

LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (TCN) -- The full-time caretaker boyfriend of a nonverbal woman has been accused of causing her death through severe neglect.

On Nov. 10, Ronald Louis Bender, 60, was charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, endangering the welfare of a care-dependent person, and involuntary manslaughter, the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

Bender had quit his job five years earlier to take care of his girlfriend, Carolyn Trimble-Weber, 62, who died Sept. 10, 2024. She had been left in “deplorable conditions,” according to the release.

She had not been to a doctor in person since 2019, and any visits with providers were virtual, with Bender speaking on Trimble-Weber’s behalf, the release said. He reportedly told investigators that it was difficult to transport her. 

She became increasingly weak and nonverbal in the years before her death. In a visit seven months before she died, a virtual provider urged Bender to take Trimble-Weber to the hospital. This doctor told police that none of her new health concerns had been brought up during that appointment, the release said.

When Trimble-Weber’s condition worsened, she was taken to the hospital by first responders. At the residence, they noted that Trimble-Weber was on a dirty, foul-smelling mattress, covered in open, infected wounds and layers of dead skin. One of the first responders said it appeared Trimble-Weber had not been bathed in a month, according to the release. 

Doctors told investigators that the outcome could have been different if Trimble-Weber had been provided proper care, the release said.

In a preliminary arraignment Nov. 10, Bender’s bail was set at $25,000, and he is currently free on that amount.

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