Police: Man may have taken dead mom for bank withdrawal

PLYMOUTH, Minn., Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Authorities in Minnesota said they are looking into whether an elderly woman was already dead when her son brought her to the bank for an $850 withdrawal.

Police said David Vanzo of Plymouth reported his mother, Caryl Vanzo, dead just days shy of her 91st birthday about two weeks ago and officers were greeted at the home by a stench of urine and feces.

The woman's body was clothed in a robe, fur coat and boots that were covered in excrement, police said.

Vanzo, who was arrested on a charge of elderly neglect, was found to have visited the bank with his mother just seven hours before reporting her death. He withdrew $850 from his mother's account, police said.

Investigators said they are looking into whether Caryl Vanzo was dead when her son took her to the bank. Witnesses at the bank said the woman's feet were dragging under her wheelchair and Vanzo's neighbors said they wondered whether the mother was dead or unconscious when she was being taken from her house to a taxi cab.

David Vanzo had previously been investigated by social workers on allegations of financially exploiting his mother. Police visited the home in 2012 and found Caryl Vanzo was lucid and wanted to stay in the home with her son.

David Vanzo denied the allegations against him and said the money he withdrew was from a joint account.

"I love my mother very much," he told KMSP-TV. "I gave my life to keep my mother alive. Look at my eyes."