A controlling mother is to blame for years of neglect that led to her adult daughter's death from anorexia nervosa and malnutrition, New Jersey authorities said.
Ermina Errico has been indicted on one count of third-degree neglect in the death of 25-year-old Emily Errico.
Her husband, Edward Errico, Emily's father, has alraedy pleaded guilty to charges of neglect.
Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said Emily Errico was 97 pounds and wearing a garbage bag as a halter when she died in 2007 at her parents' Garfield home.
Her mother called 911, but Romankow said, "the police had a difficult time entering the house because of garbage bags placed by the door."
He said there were black bags over the windows as well.
A subsequent investigation revealed her mother controlled the amount of food her daughter ate and forced her to wear trash bags as clothing and never allowed to leave the house, the prosecutor said.
Emily Errico moved back with her parents after she attended and graduated from Kean University with a degree in computer science technology.
Back at home, authorities said, Emily was fed a diet of granola bars and seltzer, as she wasted away for nearly four years.
She was 5-foot-7 and weighed just 97 pounds at the time of her death, authorities said.
Some neighbors said they didn't even know the Errico's had a daughter, and others said they hadn't seen her outside of the house for two years before her death.
