Son left mom to die 'in a recliner in storage unit' after she suffered a stroke, became nonverbal: Police

A 55-year-old Missouri man is accused of causing his mother’s death by leaving her to die in a storage unit without seeking medical care for her severe pressure ulcers, despite knowing she was immobile and in dire need of assistance.

Michael Ernest Hanson was arrested and charged with one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of his 82-year-old mother, Glenda Giertsen.

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A felony complaint filed in Christian County alleges that Hanson “recklessly” caused Giertsen’s death between Sept. 20 and Oct. 13 by “failing to seek medical care” for her pressure ulcers and leaving her “in a diaper, unattended in a recliner, in a storage unit knowing that [she] was immobile and could not leave the storage unit.”

A probable cause affidavit obtained by Springfield CBS affiliate KOLR provided additional details about the investigation.

According to the document, the Greene County Medical Examiner’s Office alerted the Nixa Police Department to Giertsen’s death on Oct. 13, saying the circumstances were suspicious.

Police learned Hanson brought Giertsen to Cox South Hospital on Sept. 23 and told hospital staff that he and his mother did not have stable housing and that she had not spoken for days.

“They traveled through several states seeking work, housing and assistance from friends and family,” police wrote, according to the Springfield Daily Citizen. “[Hanson] described staying with a friend in Utah, traveling to Nevada for a potential trucking job, and sleeping in tents in a relative’s yard in California before spending several weeks camping in a national forest in Oregon.”

Investigators learned that Hanson and Giertsen had been staying in a self-storage facility in the 300 block of South Nicholas Road in Nixa. A rental agreement reportedly showed that a unit had been assigned to Hanson from Sept. 20 through Sept. 23, according to the affidavit.

Hanson allegedly said he had lived with his mother since about 2009 and that the two became homeless in early May 2026. He reportedly explained that he believed his mother had suffered a stroke about three days before he took her to the hospital, which is when he claimed she became nonverbal, lost the ability to walk and appeared to lose function of one side of her body.

Hanson allegedly said he had to use a luggage cart to get his mother into their car but chose to drive to Missouri instead of seeking medical care.

Hanson reportedly said his mother slept in a recliner inside the storage unit while he drove to Walmart to sleep in his SUV. He said the unit was unlocked but acknowledged that Giertsen was largely immobile and could not leave on her own.

He said he took her to the hospital after noticing that sores on her buttocks had become severe.

“When I asked why he had not obtained treatment when he first recognized the symptoms he believed were caused by a stroke, [Hanson] said he was not thinking clearly because of back pain,” an officer reportedly wrote.

The Daily Citizen also reported that Hanson told a doctor that his mother “had experienced dementia symptoms for more than 15 years, had been slowly declining, and had been mostly in bed for the preceding month or longer and required assistance.”

Hanson is being held in the Christian County Jail on a $75,000 bond, records show. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to make his next court appearance.

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