An Indiana woman has been arrested after she allegedly let her husband rot to death while she moved in with her suspected boyfriend.
Rebecca Dewey was arrested on May 28 and charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death, according to online records viewed by Us Weekly. She is currently being held in custody at the Vigo County Jail on a $50,000 cash only bond.
Dewey, 62, was arrested four months after she reported that her husband, Melvin Dewey, had passed away at their home in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Terre Haute Police Department officers arrived at the Deweys’ home on January 27 and Rebecca “provided multiple inconsistent statements” about what happened before Melvin, 62, died.
Police ultimately determined that Rebecca was allegedly spending time with a boyfriend as her husband’s health depleted, according to a probable cause affidavit viewed by Law & Crime.
Rebecca reportedly told police that she checked on her husband on the morning of January 27 while he was in bed. She then claimed to go out for errands with Charles Maffioli, who was later identified as a friend and former colleague of Melvin. Once she returned home, she said he was asleep. Rebecca claimed that Melvin slept for a few hours before she brought him soup around 3 p.m., which was when she allegedly found him dead.
Police grew suspicious of Rebecca when she changed her story several times, which led them to question her about Melvin’s health.
The affidavit stated that police asked Rebecca how long Melvin had been confined to his bed and she told them that she found him wandering the neighborhood earlier that month on January 3. Melvin was then hospitalized and was rendered bedridden once he left the hospital and returned home.
Melvin suffered from dementia and had multiple strokes, according to police.
A doctor who cared for Melvin told police that he was not capable of caring for himself, while she also believed Rebecca was also not capable of caring for him. However, Rebecca insisted she “was capable” of caring for her husband when he was released from the hospital on January 9.
Officers spoke to one of the Deweys’ neighbors, who said Rebecca was “rarely present” at their home and that she would come by “approximately ten minutes before leaving again.” The neighbor also said they believed Rebecca had not lived in the home for a significant amount of time.
Police also spoke to Maffioli, who said he worked with Melvin before he became “friends” with Rebecca. When asked if he and Rebecca “hung out often,” Maffioli said that “they do quite a bit.” Police also asked if Rebecca often stayed with him, but Maffioli refused to answer any more questions without a lawyer.
When Rebecca spoke to authorities, she was reportedly told that her neighbor said she’s not home often. “I think I might need a lawyer,” she responded, per the affidavit.
She then reportedly confirmed that she had not been staying at her home and had “not been doing what she should have been doing.”
Police later looked through cellphone data, which revealed Rebecca had not been at her own home since January 21. Meanwhile, her phone was tracked to Maffioli’s residence “over 1,800 times” during the same time period of January 15 to January 26.
An autopsy was also performed on Melvin’s body, revealing that he suffered “malnutrition and skin break down” before he died.
It is not currently clear if Rebecca has entered a plea or retained legal counsel. The Vigo County Prosecutor’s Office did not immediately respond to Us Weekly’s request for comment regarding the case.
She is next scheduled to appear in court on August 27.
