Inset: Linda Oeding (Kingman County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Main Street in rural Spivey, Kan. (Google Maps).
A Kansas woman in her seventies finds herself incarcerated following a harrowing case of extended abuse and neglect that led to the tragic death of her elderly mother.
Linda Oeding, aged 71, admitted guilt in January to two charges of mistreating an elder, as reported by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. These charges stem from incidents that eventually resulted in the death of her 94-year-old mother, Betty Oeding.
This month, the court sentenced Linda Oeding to 32 months in prison for the abuse charge, with an additional eight months for neglect. The sentences are to be served consecutively, culminating in a total of 40 months behind bars.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach emphasized the importance of protecting the state’s elderly population, stating, “Elders in Kansas deserve dignity, respect, and protection — especially from those entrusted with their care. My office will continue to hold accountable anyone who abuses or neglects vulnerable Kansans.”
Court documents, as reported by the Junction City Post, revealed that Linda Oeding had assumed the role of sole caregiver for her mother, isolating her from other family members and preventing them from visiting or monitoring the victim’s well-being as her condition worsened.
Additionally, Linda Oeding prevented other family members from contacting her mother — preventing them from visiting or checking on the victim as she deteriorated under the defendant’s watch.
The woman’s poor treatment came to a head last year, according to a press release issued by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.
On Sept. 5, 2025, the defendant called emergency services to report that her mother had become unresponsive at the family’s home in Spivey, a tiny town located some 50 miles southwest of Wichita.
The defendant even turned down first responders who offered a variety of medical care for the victim, according to court records. Such treatment included transport to the nearest hospital, IV fluids, medications, and lifesaving resuscitation, authorities said.
“When EMS arrived, they observed Betty was experiencing malnourishment and improper living conditions, and recommended she be transported to a nearby hospital,” the press release explains. “Linda declined and insisted her mother be transported to [Hutchinson Regional Medical Center].”
Hutchinson Regional Medical Center was located nearly an hour away, the attorney general’s office noted in its own press release on the sentencing.
After the victim was transported to the regional hospital, she developed sepsis linked to her condition and living environment, according to law enforcement. Betty Oeding was discovered in a “shocking state” and said to be “severely emaciated, covered in advanced, infected pressure sores from prolonged immobility, and unwashed after extended neglect,” according to the AG’s office.
Five days later, the defendant’s mother died in hospice care.
On Sept. 11, 2025, the Kingman County Sheriff’s Office asked state investigators to step in after deputies “observed signs of neglect.”
On Sept. 12, 2025, Linda Oeding was arrested and booked on a broader array of relatively higher charges including murder in the first degree, mistreatment of a dependent adult or elder person, abuse and neglect, and interfering with medical care.
The plea deal resulted in the state dropping most of the charges.
“Unfortunately, elder neglect often goes unnoticed and unreported — we are so grateful for the medical professionals and law enforcement teams in this case who took immediate action to care for the elder victim and document the mistreatment,” Deputy Attorney General Jessica Domme, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement.
