BUNNELL, FL – A Florida woman has been sentenced to prison for the death of her elderly mother. Kim Zaheer, 68, received a six-year sentence on Thursday for aggravated manslaughter in the 2018 death of Frances Hildegard King, who was 88.
Zaheer will serve just over one year in correctional detention due to over four and a half years credited for time served. Following her prison sentence, she will be on probation for ten years.
The state attorney’s office waived standard sentencing guidelines, which would have mandated a minimum prison term exceeding eleven years.
The case began on December 5, 2018, when deputies responded to a call about an unresponsive elderly woman. First responders found King in deplorable conditions, described as malnourished and dead in her bed, surrounded by filth.
King’s body was covered in fecal matter and had visible signs of neglect. Medical personnel noted conditions consistent with severe emaciation and likened King’s state to that of concentration camp prisoners.
The medical examiner confirmed that King’s cause of death was severe emaciation along with a rare bladder infection.
During sentencing, Judge Dawn D. Nichols displayed a photo of King taken after her death, highlighting the severe neglect she endured, a stark reminder of the conditions in which King lived before her death.