Martinez Couple Pleads Not Guilty To Death-By-Neglect Charges

MARTINEZ, CA — A Martinez couple pleaded not guilty Monday to charges associated with the death of the woman's 77-year-old father Lyle Charles Lawrence, who was found unresponsive in their home last month and allegedly died of neglect.

Laura Ann Lawrence, 50, and Edmund Phillip St. John, 49, were charged with involuntary manslaughter, elder abuse or neglect resulting in death and child abuse, which are all felonies. Lawrence was also charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly trying to dissuade a family member, who is listed as both a witness and a victim, from filing a police report.

Police and medical personnel were initially dispatched to a report of a man who had stopped breathing in the 200 block of Escondido Drive around 10:30 a.m. Feb. 28.

Laura Ann Lawrence and St. John were arrested after investigators came to believe that the decedent had died as a result of neglect.

Bail was set for Lawrence at $1.34 million and at $200,000 for St. John, according to court documents. Both are scheduled to return to court on March 21 in Martinez.

RELATED COVERAGE:

• Martinez Husband, Wife Charged In Father's Death: DA
• 2 Arrested In Martinez Man's Death: Police

By Bay City News Service