A 66-year-old woman was malnourished and living in filthy conditions inside an Omaha house when she died of neglect by a caretaker for the woman and three other disabled adults, an Omaha police detective alleged in an affidavit.
Kathy Snider only ate six meals over the final 30 days of her life, with an autopsy determining she died from a lung infection, malnutrition, diabetes and dementia. Police officers found Snider dead next to a twin-sized mattress inside a house near 26th and Arbor Streets just east of Interstate 480 on Feb. 12.
The mattress she slept on was stained with human feces and urine, the detective wrote.
Three other people with disabilities — an 80-year-old man, a 72-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man — were also living in the house at the time of Snider’s death.
The detective described horrific living conditions despite Nicky Budlong, 53, acting as caretaker for the disabled adults. The three surviving adults told officers Budlong was physically and mentally abusing them and financially exploiting them.
Officers found the home covered in “both animal and human feces and urine” when they responded to a call pertaining to Snider’s death. There were indications the home was infested with bugs, the detective wrote. During another police check of the home eight days after officers responded to Snider’s death, the detective found there wasn’t any food inside the house.
“There were bags of dirty laundry with very little usable clothing,” the detective wrote.
The detective added the 80-year-old man did not have access to the bathroom. The man, instead, was using a pot with dirty water. His mattress was also stained with human feces and urine, the detective wrote.
Snider first moved into the house with Budlong on April 3, 2019. At that time, Snider weighed 163 pounds. At the time of her autopsy, Snider’s body was 91 pounds.
The detective wrote Budlong allegedly had “complete control” of Snider’s car. The other three people did not have vehicles. That meant no one other than Budlong could drive the adults to medical appointments or grocery stores. Budlong was not bringing enough food to feed the residents, the affidavit said.
The 72-year-old woman kept a journal, noting how often the four adults ate, what they ate, and whether they were allowed to shower and do laundry. The detective’s review of the journal for one year showed the four vulnerable adults averaged less than one meal per day. It was in the woman’s journal where the detective found that Snider had only eaten six meals in the final month of her life.
Police interviews with Budlong, the 80-year-old man and 72-year-old woman showed Budlong allegedly was not giving the man his prescribed medications. After police were initially called to the house on Feb. 12, the man was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center for treatment of weight faltering and malnutrition.
The three adults also told police Budlong possessed their bank cards and would not allow them to access their Social Security benefits.
A police review of bank records allegedly showed Budlong withdrew the disabled adults’ Social Security benefits and deposited them into her two bank accounts. Budlong allegedly used some of the Social Security funds to pay the four adults’ rent, utilities and cell phone bills.
Once those monthly bills were paid, Budlong allegedly kept nearly all of the remainder of the monthly Social Security payments from each recipient. Each month, the detective alleged, Budlong kept $694.71 from the 72-year-old woman and 62-year-old man, $914.70 from the 80-year-old man and $1,349.49 from Snider.
Budlong was unable to provide police an itemized accounting of where she spent the money. The detective further alleged she refused to answer investigators’ questions on where the money had gone.
Budlong had lived in the house as a tenant but had moved out around April 2024. Still, the detective alleged, Budlong retained “medical” power of attorney for the 80-year-old man.
Budlong was arrested and charged on Monday with manslaughter and abuse of a vulnerable adult in connection to Snider’s death. She also has been charged with three counts of theft, each totaling more than $5,000. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance on Wednesday.
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