HEBRON, Ky., Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A woman and her son have pleaded innocent to charges they abducted schizophrenic scientist Walter Sartory in Kentucky and later killed the man.
The Los Angeles Times said Thursday that Sartory's housekeeper, Willa Blanc, and her son, Louis Wilkinson, are being held in lieu of $10 million bail on charges ranging from murder to kidnapping.
The mother-son pair being held in Boone County, Ky., is accused of abducting and drugging Sartory, 73, in an attempt to get access to his financial accounts.
Authorities said while being held prisoner, Sartory was not provided with the medication to control his panic attacks and the former scientist at Tennessee's Oak Ridge National Laboratory died.
Blanc and Wilkinson allegedly burned Sartory's body after the death of the scientist, who was reported missing last February.
Wilkinson allegedly told authorities he found Sartory being held prisoner in their home in mid-February, adding the scientist appeared drugged.
Wilkinson said Sartory had breathing problems and repeatedly vomited due to being denied his medication, the Times reported.
