Woman accused of starving uncle

NEW YORK (AP) — A Bronx woman has been charged with starving her severely autistic uncle to death.

Naisia Norman, 22, was charged with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide on Wednesday. She pleaded not guilty.

James Thompson, 42, weighed only 70 pounds when he was found dead at this Bronx apartment in 2012. They say the cupboards and refrigerator were nearly empty.

Prosecutors say Thompson weight 145 pounds when Norman applied to become a "relative payee" to her uncle after his mother — who had cared for him — moved into a nursing home. They say she received over $8,000 from his monthly Social Security payments, most of which she spent on herself.

The New York Times says efforts to reach her lawyer by phone were unsuccessful.

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