Woman Gambles in Casino - Meanwhile, Disabled Husband Freezes in Parking Garage

Well, just when you think you’re heard everything, you read something that makes you shake your head in disgust.

I’m talking about a recent incident in Council Bluffs, Iowa where Judy Fairbanks, 52, was arrested and charged with neglect of a dependent person. The arrest stemmed from an incident where Fairbanks left her invalid husband, Charles, inside a car in below freezing temperatures while she went inside the Horseshoe Casino and did a little leisurely gambling.

Fairbanks, a resident of Bellevue, Nebraska, faces up to 10 years in jail. According to police, she taped a sign to the window which read, “I have a disability. Do not be alarmed. I am resting. Please do not call security.” It is estimated that her husband was alone on the third floor of the casino’s parking garage for over an hour before casino security guards found him sleeping in the front passenger’s seat. According to the National Weather Service, the temperature at the time was 28 degrees.

Charles Fairbanks has suffered multiple strokes, and suffers from dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. He cannot speak or move on his own. Luckily, he was not injured during his time in the freezing conditions.

“It’s something we’re taking very seriously,” said Pottawattamie County Attorney, Matt Wilber. “It’d really be little different than having an infant left unattended in a parking garage, in terms of being able to look after himself, to care for himself.”

Amazingly, police said that a similar incident occurred with Judy Fairbanks on March 6th of this year, but officers were not called to the casino. Wilber said that the police receive calls all the time about people leaving children in their cars while they go in to gamble.

Fairbanks was released from jail on Monday and will have to return to court in May for a preliminary hearing. In the meantime, let’s hope that conditions improve for poor Charles.

Woman Gambles in Casino - Meanwhile, Disabled Husband Freezes in Parking Garage