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AMES, Iowa - Patricia Keith, a longtime professor of sociology at Iowa State University, died of malnutrition, a state medical official said this week.
Keith, 70, was found dead Jan. 4 in the home where she lived with her husband, Arthur Meyers, 69.
Police and emergency crews called to the home said they found severe hoarding that blocked off access to all rooms in the house except for parts of the two main bedrooms.
The home was ruled unsuitable for occupancy two days later. Meyers has been told that he cannot live there until the conditions have been corrected.
According to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, an autopsy revealed that the cause of Keith’s death was a complication of malnutrition.
No charges have been brought against her husband, who is a lecturer in physics and astronomy at ISU.
Recently unsealed search warrants detail how Keith was found. According to the warrant affidavit, Keith was “severely undernourished.”
“The house was unkempt and it is unclear if proper care was being provided to Keith,” wrote Ames Police Detective Matt Duncan. “Through further investigation, it appears that Keith’s body has been in its found position for an extended period of time.”
According to the warrant, Keith took leave from her employment at the university several months ago. Meyers told police that he had last spoken to her on Jan. 2 or Jan. 3.
Police said the search revealed no access to kitchen or bathroom facilities. Meyers was cited by the city in 2008 for fire code violations and storing items outdoors. In letters to the court in 2008, Meyers described his wife’s health problems and said she had recently gone to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
“They took one look at her and put her in the hospital for a week in the cancer ward,” Meyers wrote. “It turns out that both her red and white blood cell counts were dangerously low.”
Meyers said Thursday that his wife suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for the last 15 years, and toward the end of her life was no longer able to absorb food.
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