Her mother, Blanche Cowen, died two years ago. Investigators said it was one of the worst cases of elder abuse they had seen.
Cowen died in a trailer on the same property where Strawser lived. Investigators found her dead on a couch, covered in feces.
It had been almost a year since Cowen’s last bath, Logan County Detective Phil Bailey said.
“I mean it was bad neglect,” Bailey said. “Basically they let Blanche lay in her own feces and not feed her or bathe her or anything.”
Strawser is currently on probation. She declined to comment for this story.
Strawser previously said she rarely visited her mother because of health problems of her own. A family friend, Sonny Scott, stayed in the trailer with Cowen and also helped with her care. Scott was also indicted for the neglecting Cowen, but died earlier this year.
Strawser was convicted of the reckless homicide of her mother and theft from the elderly in 2015.
Authorities say Strawser used Cowen’s monthly Social Security checks for herself, rather than for her mother’s care.
Some family members were shocked to hear of Strawser’s release.
“She definitely got out way too early as far as I’m concerned,” said Cowen’s niece Louise McMillion.
McMillion believed Strawser’s sentence was too short to begin with.
“I didn’t feel that she got near enough because of what she had done to her mother,” she said.
She has fond memories of Cowen.
“She was always so happy,” McMillion said. “She would laugh all the time.”
And despite her age, McMillion said Cowen appeared to be healthy.
“I believe that if she had been fed and treated right,” she said, “she would still be alive today.”
Logan County Adult Protective Services weren’t contacted about Cowen’s living situation.
“If you suspect something, please pick up the phone,” said Eric Welty, supervisor at Logan County Job & Family Services.
Bruising and personal grooming are signs of abuse, Welty said.
And if someone’s life is in danger, Welty said, law enforcement should be contacted.
Logan County Adult Protective Services can be reached at (937)-599-5165 ext. 5249.
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