Laura Tisdelle: Michigan woman gets life in prison for torturing boyfriend's 80-year-old mother and leaving her to die 'in her own urine and feces’
STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN: A Sterling Heights woman accused of torturing her boyfriend’s 80-year-old mother in June 2022 reportedly appeared in Macomb County Circuit Court for trial on Wednesday, December 27.
Laura Catherine Tisdelle, 41, has been charged with torture, a potential life felony, first-degree abuse of a vulnerable adult, unlawful imprisonment, and third-degree domestic violence.
In 41A District Court, Judge Kimberly Wiegand oversaw the preliminary examination and bound Tisdelle over for all four offences.Tisdelle’s next court date is scheduled for January 8, 2024, at 1.30 pm.
Tisdelle tortured her boyfriend's elderly mother until she was found unresponsive
Laura Tisdelle is facing a possible life sentence for allegedly torturing her boyfriend’s elderly mother while he was on vacation with his children, tying the 80-year-old woman to the bed and severely beating her until she was eventually found unresponsive in a pool of her own urine and faecet.
According to a press release from the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, Tisdelle’s boyfriend returned home from a five-day trip with his children on June 21, 2023, and discovered his mother “with her hands tied together, restrained to the bed, severely beaten and laying in her own urine and feces.”
A person found guilty of torturing another person could get a maximum sentence of life in a state prison, according to Michigan state law. Tisdelle may spend an additional 35 years in prison on the remaining crimes.
The Macomb Daily reported that Tisdelle used yellow twine to bind the elderly woman’s hands to her bed.
“The defendant’s boyfriend left his mother in her care and when he came home from his trip, the defendant was intoxicated and he found his mother non-responsive,” Wiegand said, as per the outlet.
The victim was rushed to a hospital where she was admitted and placed into the intensive care unit in critical condition, prosecutors said. During the boyfriend’s trip, authorities claim that Tisdelle was the only person caring for his mother.
The torture depicts 'darkest corners of our society'
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J Lucido said in a statement following Tisdelle’s arrest, “The torture and abuse allegedly inflicted upon a defenseless, elderly woman is a grim testament to the darkest corners of our society."
He added, “It is my solemn duty to prosecute these heinous acts. We will ensure that the victim’s voice is heard, her pain acknowledged, and her perpetrator held accountable.”
Tisdelle was arraigned in June and held on $200,000 bond. She has been in detention since her initial arrest. Wiegand also ordered her to undergo substance abuse and mental health evaluations.
In June, Lucido spoke to Detroit Fox affiliate WJBK about the circumstances of Tisdelle’s alleged actions.
“It is something so shocking to anyone who has an aged loved one. How could someone aged and vulnerable be (subjected) to having this happen to them,” he said to the station, adding, “I really feel for this woman (and) her son. I am appalled.”
Tisdelle is scheduled to make her first appearance in circuit court on the afternoon of January 8, 2024, as per Law and Crime.
