“It might be an accident,” she said.

St. Louis Public Radio's Jo Mannies talked with the grandson of a woman who had an infection after putting her garbage out by the curb.

Saint Louis resident Karen Hartigan is sick after putting her garbage out early Tuesday morning. She got rid of garbage by putting it into a large garbage can in her driveway. The trash then got wet and began to decompose. It got out of control and covered the floor.

Her grandson spoke to News 4 about the case and how he has come to care for her. Saint Louis Public Radio's Sarah Kogut has the story.

“You can see the bed sores. She has sores all up and down her legs and she has sores on her feet,” Matt Treichler said.

Hartigan's daughter had warned her not to put her garbage out early. Her grandson added that she might have gotten into bed with the trash while she slept. Hartigan stayed with her grandma, knowing she might get sick.

Happily, she got no bed sores, her granddaughter said.

Hartigan told St. Louis Public Radio Wednesday night that the issue was just a week ago, and she thinks her grandma is probably tired and that her bed sores were just a small outbreak, but that she is seriously ill.

The trash-in-bed story has dominated headlines since Hartigan talked about it. News 4 also talked with Hartigan and her daughter, who said they had put out garbage early on purpose because Hartigan was angry about a life insurance policy her grandmother refused to pay out to her as a guardian.

Hartigan had earlier declined to give the mother-and-granddaughter interview but later changed her mind. She told the TV station Tuesday evening that she thought it might help Saint Louis Public Radio with a story on garbage in the trash.

She’s still mad at the city, and she had some things to say Wednesday night, too.

“I think they should pay,” Hartigan said.

On Friday, she's planning to take her granddaughter to Saint Louis City Hall to report what happened. Hartigan said she wants Saint Louis to be more careful with people's garbage, and she doesn't want her grandmas to be sick or to have to worry about bed sores.

NOTE: This report was first published Oct. 6, 1997, and updated Oct. 7 to reflect further information.

Written by Sarah Kansty 10/06/1997 © 2022 The Saint Louis Waterback Times Company