Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Stewartville woman has pleaded guilty to a felony neglect charge stemming from the death of an ailing relative.

74-year-old Shirley Kraemer was originally charged with second degree manslaughter after a 76-year-old woman was found in her bed inside a home in High Forest Township last November. At the time the charges were filed, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem described it as a case of extreme neglect, and the criminal complaint detailed the woman’s horrid physical condition.

The deputy who responded to the home indicated the woman was in extreme pain, but was conscious when she was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital, where she died three days later. Her doctors blamed “severe, profound and physical neglect,” and an autopsy determined she died from septic shock, along with skin and bone infections.

Kraemer told investigators the victim had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis about 10 years ago. Investigators learned the two women were suspicious of doctors and failed to follow through with treatment. A neighbor told authorities the women “did not believe in modern medicine and were paranoid.”

A sentencing date for Kraemer has not been scheduled.

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