Boulder County man accused of neglect in mother's death deemed competent to proceed

Sep. 22—The man accused of neglect and tampering with a body following his mother's death has been deemed competent enough for his case to proceed.

Jeffrey Apprill, 55, is charged with tampering with a deceased body, criminal exploitation of an at-risk person, at-risk negligence resulting in serious bodily injury, caretaker neglect against an at-risk person, concealing a death, and one crime of violence sentence enhancer.

Attorneys raised competency concerns about Apprill in the summer, but following an evaluation Boulder District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Shannon Carbone said the courts determined Apprill was competent enough for the case to continue.

Apprill is now set for a preliminary hearing on Monday.

Apprill was also able to post a $1,000 cash option on his $10,000 bond and was released on Sept. 12, according to court records.

According to an arrest affidavit, Apprill was hospitalized on Aug. 27, 2020, and then put on a mental health hold because of delusions and statements he was making.

An associate of Apprill's stopped by Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville and expressed concern to staff because he knew Apprill was the sole caretaker for his mother, Karen, and the associate said he had not heard from her for some time.

Deputies checked on Karen Apprill's address on Bosque Court north of Boulder and did not get an answer. They checked back the next day and decided to enter the home with a key obtained from her son because of their concern for her welfare.

According to the affidavit, deputies said the home was extremely cluttered, with only a narrow space to walk through. The deputies also noted none of the doors had doorknobs, only deadbolts.

In the bedroom, they found a decomposing body under a blanket on the bed, covered in numerous empty 20-pound ice bags. An ice chest was also found in the room.

Both a forensic pathologist and a forensic anthropologist investigated the remains and found rib fractures that occurred before the woman had died, in addition to several bed sores that were so bad they had reached the bone.

Because of the advanced decomposition of the body, the coroner's office was unable to make a determination as to the cause or manner of death.

In a search of the home, investigators found pieces of paper in which Karen Apprill wrote that her son was starving her. There were also medical records that showed doctors advised Karen Apprill was suffering from malnutrition and should be seen by a doctor.

A financial investigation showed she was receiving more than $2,000 a month from pension, Social Security and other retirement accounts, and that Jeffrey Apprill had access to those funds.

When he spoke with police, Jeffrey Apprill admitted that he put the bags of ice on his mother's body and that he used the money she was receiving after she died.

According to the affidavit, Jeffrey Apprill said his mother died in a fall in the shower in March 2020.

The autopsy led investigators to believe Karen Apprill had been dead for seven to 10 months before her body was found. The last time anyone aside from Jeffrey Apprill had reported seeing her alive was May 2019, according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, police had been called to the address previously for welfare checks on Karen Apprill related to allegations of elder abuse.