A Philadelphia mother who abandoned her quadriplegic son in the woods with only a blanket and a Bible was hospitalized following her arrest in Maryland.
Nyia Parler, 41, was taken to a Maryland hospital for unspecified reasons after she was arrested by Maryland police on Saturday.
Police say Parler wheeled her “non-verbal” 21-year-old quadriplegic son into the woods along Cobbs Creek Parkway near Catherine Street on Monday.
“She pushes him about 150 yards from the highway into the wooded area, takes him out of wheelchair, lays him on the ground, puts a blanket over him and leaves a Bible with him, and then just walks away,” Lt. John Walker told NBCphiladelphia.
Parler then caught a bus to Maryland to be with her boyfriend. “We know she left for Maryland on Monday to go see her boyfriend on a bus,” Walker told NBC10.
The next day, Parler updated her Facebook page with a photo of herself and an unidentified man. “I’m so happy,” she wrote in the comments section.
On Friday a passerby found Parler’s son in the woods. The victim who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as a child had survived 5 nights of cold temperatures and rain.
“They found [him] about 100 yards off the roadway here, laying in leaves. He’s got a blanket over him and a Bible on his chest,” Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker told NBCphiladelphia.
Walker said a wheelchair was found about 10 feet away from the victim.
Investigators say he likely would have died if the Good Samaritan didn’t find him when he did.
“A lot of things could’ve happened out there,” Walker told NBC10. “Obviously he’s in the middle of a wooded area. You have wild animals out there. You never know what’s going to happen.”
The victim was taken to a Philadelphia hospital where he was treated for a pressure sore on his back, dehydration, malnutrition and exposure to the elements.
Several aunts are with him at his bedside.
Police said a school where the victim is a student called an aunt after the victim missed class for a few days. The aunt called Parler, who lied and said the victim was safe with her in Maryland.
Parler also has a 16-year-old son who is staying with relatives, according to Walker.
Investigators said Parler will be extradited to Philadelphia after she is released from the hospital.
She will be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, kidnapping, and a laundry list of other assorted charges.
