Police said Nancy Polizzi was unable to care for herself before her death.
CARLISLE, N.Y. — For about six months before she was found dead, 89-year-old Nancy Polizzi lived in a shed without heat or running water on the same property where her son lived, state police said.
That timeline is now at the center of a felony case against Joseph Polizzi, 64, of Carlisle. State police arrested him April 16, 2026, after an investigation into his mother’s death. He is charged with criminally negligent homicide and first-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person. Police said he was Nancy Polizzi’s son and primary caretaker.
The first date in the police account is August 2024. Investigators said that is when Nancy Polizzi began living in the shed on a property on Polizzi Road. The release does not say why she moved there, who arranged the move or where she had lived before. It also does not say whether the shed had been modified for sleeping or whether it contained medical supplies, a bed, a heater that did not work or any source of drinking water. What police did say was direct: the shed lacked heat and running water, and Nancy Polizzi remained there into February 2025.
The next date is Feb. 23, 2025, when troopers responded to a report of an unattended death. They arrived at the property and found Nancy Polizzi dead in the shed, police said. At that moment, the case appeared publicly as a death investigation. Police have not said who made the report, what time troopers were called or what first responders saw when they entered the shed. They also have not said whether Joseph Polizzi was present when troopers arrived. Those facts may appear later in court filings, but the arrest announcement focused on what investigators learned after the body was found.
The day after the discovery, Dr. Bernard Ng performed an autopsy at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady. Police said Ng ruled Nancy Polizzi’s death a homicide. Her cause of death was sepsis from untreated gangrenous decubitus ulceration, commonly known as bedsores. That finding placed the months before her death under close review. Bedsores are associated with pressure on the skin, especially when a person cannot move without help. Police said Nancy Polizzi could not walk, feed herself or speak in the weeks leading up to her death, making her dependent on another person for basic care.
The police account then turns to Joseph Polizzi’s role. Investigators said he lived in a residence on the same property and was his mother’s primary caretaker. They allege he did not provide adequate medical care or seek necessary medical treatment for her. The release says that failure reportedly resulted in her death. The case does not accuse him of using a weapon or committing an intentional assault. Instead, it alleges that a caregiver’s failure to act led to a fatal outcome. Prosecutors will have to prove that claim through testimony, records and medical evidence.
The gap between the death and arrest lasted nearly 14 months. During that time, state police continued the investigation after the autopsy. Public records released by police do not explain every step in that period, but the length suggests investigators had to build more than a scene report. They had to establish the medical cause of death, the condition of the shed, Nancy Polizzi’s ability to care for herself and Joseph Polizzi’s duty as caregiver. They also had to determine whether the facts supported criminal charges. The arrest came on April 16, 2026, and police announced it the next day.
Joseph Polizzi was charged with two felonies. First-degree endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person is a class D felony. Criminally negligent homicide is a class E felony. The endangerment charge focuses on Nancy Polizzi’s status and the alleged failure to protect or care for her. The homicide charge focuses on whether criminal negligence caused her death. A criminal complaint or indictment could provide more detail on the exact conduct prosecutors say violated the law. The police release did not include that level of detail, and it did not say whether a grand jury has reviewed the case.
After his arrest, Joseph Polizzi was taken to Schoharie County Centralized Arraignment Court. He was remanded to the Schoharie County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 cash bail, $10,000 bond or a $50,000 partially secured bond. The bail decision means he could be released if he meets one of the financial conditions, unless a later court order changes his status. The police announcement did not include a plea or the name of a defense attorney. It also did not list a future appearance date. Joseph Polizzi is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Carlisle is a rural Schoharie County town west of Albany, where properties may include homes, barns, sheds and other outbuildings. That setting matters because police described a scene where a house and shed stood on the same property. A rural outbuilding can look ordinary from a road, but police said this one became the place where an elderly woman lived through months without heat or running water. The public release does not say whether neighbors knew she was inside, whether anyone reported the conditions or whether town code officials had inspected the property before her death.
The case raises factual questions that are likely to shape the next legal phase. Prosecutors may need to show when Nancy Polizzi became unable to walk, feed herself or speak, and what Joseph Polizzi knew about that decline. They may also need to show whether medical treatment would have changed the outcome. Investigators said the bedsores were untreated and gangrenous, but court proceedings could bring testimony about how long they were present and whether they would have been visible to a caregiver. The defense may dispute parts of that timeline, the level of care required or the causal link to death.
Police have released no statement from Joseph Polizzi, no family history and no explanation for why Nancy Polizzi was living in the shed. They also have not said whether anyone else could face charges. That leaves the known story narrow but severe: an elderly woman was found dead in an unheated shed without running water, an autopsy found fatal sepsis from untreated bedsores, and her son was later charged as the caregiver who failed to get her care. The court record will determine whether the allegations can be proven.
For now, the case remains pending in Schoharie County. The next public milestone is expected to come through court filings or a scheduled appearance, where more details may emerge about the months between August 2024 and Nancy Polizzi’s death on Feb. 23, 2025.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.