On Wednesday, just before 2:30 p.m., Roy Lee Bowers, 64, of 425 South Wheeler St., Prosperity, was charged with abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult resulting in death.
Bowers, the owner of Southside Residential Care Facility, is accused of neglecting 50-year-old William Sealy.
Sealy had lived at the Southside Residential Care Facility in Prosperity for about a year.
On April 10, Sealy was taken to a local doctor, who admitted him to Newberry County Memorial Hospital.
Once at the hospital, the staff found Sealy had numerous medical problems, including malnutrition, and called police to report a possible case of neglect.
Sealy, who suffered from mental illness, died around 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Prosperity Police Captain Craig Nelson said Sealy did not have any close family.
Nelson said that at the time Sealy was admitted to the hospital, the skin on his legs was peeling and he was suffering from a skin disorder on his scalp. Sealy also weighed 94 pounds, his ears were packed with drainage and one of his toes had blackened as if it were rotten, the Prosperity officer said.
On Wednesday, Nelson served a search warrant on the residential care home and searched Sealy's room.
Yesterday, three S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control agents spent five hours inspecting the facility.
During the inspection, they interviewed the facility's staff and 19 out of 20 residents, reviewed files and looked over the facility.
The only violations discovered during the inspection were four documents that needed updating.
Bowers posted a $50,000 surety bond, $5,000 cash, and was released from the Newberry County Detention Center just before 10 a.m. yesterday.
Bowers still holds his license for owning and operating a residential care facility.
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