Lori Meers, 54, will spend two to 30 years in the Utah State Prison for the death of her 77-year-old mother in Cottonwood Heights. The victim suffered severe neglect while in Meers' care.

A Third District judge on Tuesday, Sept. 8, sentenced Meers to consecutive terms of one to 15 years on each of two second-degree felony counts: manslaughter and intentional aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult. The sentencing judge said Meers' treatment of her mother "amounted to torture," according to a post-sentencing statement from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.

"This was not a case of mistakes by an overwhelmed caretaker, this was outright neglect," Gill said in the statement.

The case began Monday, March 10, 2025, when the victim's twin sister, identified in court records as R.M., visited the Cottonwood Heights home where the victim lived with Meers. R.M. found her sister on a downstairs floor with only a sheet covering her lower body. The victim's back was ice cold to the touch, Gephardt Daily reported.

Meers was not home at the time. When she returned, she told R.M. that the victim had not eaten in four days and that she had not called anyone for help. R.M. dialed 911 herself and handed the phone to Meers, according to ABC4.

The victim, identified only as W.P., was nonverbal and had dementia. She was taken to Intermountain Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed severe sepsis with septic shock, hypothermia, bed sores, pancreatitis and injuries to her hips, legs and feet. She was so cold it took hours to warm her.

W.P. died nine days later, on March 19, 2025. An autopsy determined the cause of death was septic shock due to acute pancreatitis. The medical examiner's office found "significant trauma" and noted that malnutrition and ulcers can increase the risk of infection and septic shock.

A Cottonwood Heights Police Department detective who entered the home reported a foul odor of old urine and feces mixed with food and filth. Every stair was covered in a thick film of dirt, grime and what the detective believed to be feces, according to ABC4.

Meers had told R.M. weeks earlier that she called an elder abuse hotline on herself because she was too tired to care for W.P. properly. She later told her sister the agency never responded. Meers admitted to police she never actually made that call.

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office charged Meers on Sept. 9, 2025, according to the DA's office. Prosecutors Karissa McKinney and Ben Bartholomew tried the case. Jury selection began July 7, 2026, and the jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts on Friday, July 10, Gephardt Daily reported.

Gill also thanked Cottonwood Heights Police Department detectives in his post-sentencing statement for what he called a "thorough investigation that helped lead to this just outcome."

Utah law requires any person who believes a vulnerable adult is being abused, neglected or exploited to notify Adult Protective Services or law enforcement immediately. The state's elder abuse hotline is 1-800-371-7897, available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Reports can also be filed online at daas.utah.gov/adult-protective-services.