Duane Valentine (52), an Oklahoma man, faces second-degree murder and abuse by a caretaker charges after allegedly neglecting his bedridden 70-year-old mother, Deborah Valentine, to death in their Del City home.
Discovery of the Body
On February 17, 2026, Duane called police reporting his mother unresponsive in her bedroom. Officers found her decomposed body sunk into a bed buried under two feet of trash, surrounded by rats and human waste—with body cam audio capturing remarks like “20 rats eating on this lady” and “a mouse was eating on her face.” He claimed she fell ill days earlier, had been “sleeping a lot,” and he was her live-in caretaker for nine years after she became bedridden 2-3 months prior.
Investigation Findings
- Duane said he last spoke to her three days before, checked once (found her “sleeping”), then discovered her unresponsive—but evidence suggested she’d been dead longer.
- Family confronted him at the scene for not calling them; he insisted “I didn’t know… I didn’t think she was gone” and “she was stubborn… didn’t like to be messed with when she sleeps.”
- At the station, he denied killing her. Police suspect timeline discrepancies and financial abuse (Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation probing).
Legal Status
Posted $50,000 bond; released with GPS monitoring to Oklahoma County Detention Center conditions. Arraignment set for March 19.
This extreme neglect case shocks—caretaker duties demand vigilance, not denial. Track Del City PD or local courts for updates.
