Nipomo woman gets year in jail for abusing terminally ill daughter

November 2, 2016

A Nipomo optometrist has received a one-year jail sentence for abusing her terminally ill adult daughter, whom hospital workers reportedly found covered in urine and feces. Despite pleading no contest to a felony count, Susanne Wilch Krout maintains her innocence and says she took a plea deal because a jury would never believe her.

On Sept. 23, 2015, Krout, 65, called for an ambulance to the Nipomo home of her son Thomas Anderson and her 28-year-old daughter. Emergency medical personnel arrived and transported Susanne Krout’s daughter to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.

After discovering the patient malnourished and soaked in her own urine and feces, hospital staff reported suspicions of neglect, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies conducted an investigation and determined Susanne Krout’s daughter had fallen on the floor in a bathroom at her home where she laid for several days.

Deputies arrested Susanne Krout, as well as Anderson, 31, who was living with his sister but had a job outside of the home. Following the arrests, the sheriff’s office issued a press release saying the incident was not isolated and there had been a pattern of neglect and abuse over a few months.

Family members disputed the sheriff’s office account of events. San Luis Obispo-based attorney Michael Krout, Susanne Krout’s husband, said there was no feces and urine, and the adult daughter had been on the floor for no more than a day. Michael Krout described his wife as a loving mother who stopped in daily to check on her daughter.

In August, Anderson pleaded no contest to felony dependent adult abuse. He received a sentence of three years formal probation and community service.

Last month, Susanne Krout, too, pleaded no contest to felony dependent adult abuse. Susanne Krout was sentenced last week to 365 days in jail. She is expected to serve about 180 days due to time served and other credits. Michael Krout says she is applying to serve her sentence in home detention.

Susanne Krout also received three years of formal probation, and she must complete community service and pay court fees.

Prior to sentencing, Susanne Krout maintained her innocence during interviews with probation department officials, adamantly denying that her daughter was never left on the bathroom floor or covered in urine and feces. Susanne Krout said her daughter’s health had deteriorated over several days, and she had planned to call 911 on Sept. 23 if her condition had not improved. The only mistake she admitted was not calling 911 sooner.

After sentencing, Michael Krout released a statement saying the plea his wife entered was the result of poor judgment on the part of the mother of a dying daughter.

Susanne Krout’s daughter is now living n a nursing home outside of SLO County. The woman has been diagnosed with neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation, which is a permanent irreversible genetic disorder that leads to dementia and will become a terminal condition.

Shortly before falling ill, Susanne Krout’s daughter worked as an engineer. She is a Cal Poly graduate.

Protective orders bar Susanne Krout and Anderson from having any contact with their terminally ill daughter and sister until Oct. 2018.