Birch Bay man pleads guilty to elder abuse

A Birch Bay man who was arrested April 3, 2021, after a 71-year-old woman he was supposed to be caring for was found lying face down covered in her feces will serve over a year in jail.

Robert William Savage, 53, was convicted of second-degree criminal mistreatment, domestic violence, after pleading guilty October 3 in Whatcom County Superior Court. Savage received a 13-month sentence, which is the minimum given for such an offense, and a five-year no-contact order.

The woman’s son and granddaughter visited the trailer April 2, 2021, in the 7000 block of Jackson Road and found the woman lying face down on the floor wearing a nightgown that was soiled in her own feces and urine while Savage slept, according to the affidavit of probable cause (APC).

It took the woman’s son and granddaughter 15 minutes to wake Savage. According to the APC, when asked why he didn’t help the woman, Savage said he couldn’t pick her up.

Medical personnel were called to the scene and the woman was taken to the hospital for concerns of sepsis and dehydration. The woman was in satisfactory condition as of April 8, 2021, according to a PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center spokesperson.

A doctor who examined the woman at the hospital told deputies it was possible the woman had burns on her body and could have been on the floor between one and four days. She was admitted to the hospital due to her injuries and condition, and the doctor listed her diagnosis as elder abuse.

The woman’s son had requested a welfare check April 1, 2021, after not hearing from his mother since mid-March.

When Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded, Savage told them the woman was sleeping and he didn’t want to wake her. Deputies had no reason to doubt Savage and left, the APC says.