PHOENIX (AP) - A Phoenix couple have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the abuse and torture of a mentally disabled man who later died.
A Maricopa County Superior Court spokesman says 29-year-old Carlena Pinkerton pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and vulnerable adult abuse and 34-year-old Joshua Pinkerton pleaded guilty to manslaughter and vulnerable adult abuse.
The couple was arrested in 2012 in the death of 22-year-old James Roy Moore, who authorities said was Carlena Pinkerton’s brother.
Phoenix police say Moore died at Phoenix Indian Hospital a day after the Pinkertons left him there.
Authorities said Moore had multiple fractures and a collapsed lung and was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration.
Investigators said Moore was kept for long periods in a 2-by-4-foot room. containing only a water heater and a drain.
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