A fourth member of the Flores-Paulo family has pleaded guilty to a federal charge in the Carl DeBrodie case.
Mary K. Paulo, 36, pleaded guilty Tuesday to obstruction of justice in federal court in the Western District of Missouri.
She pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly falsifying a document with the intent to impede, obstruct and influence an investigation related to the death of DeBrodie, according a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
DeBrodie was 31 years old when his remains were found in a Fulton storage unit in April 2017, about a week after he was reported missing. He was a developmentally disabled resident of Second Chance Homes of Fulton, a care facility tasked with and paid to give him care.
Paulo also worked as a caregiver at Second Chance Homes, regularly working alongside DeBrodie and his caretakers, according to the DOJ.
Paulo's parents, Sherry Paulo and Anthony Flores, pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the case in November. Both also worked as caregivers at Second Chance Homes.
Paulo and Anthony Flores admitted in their pleas they had observed DeBrodie's health decline beginning in 2014. DeBrodie became underweight and pale, and he grew more ill over a period of several months. During this time, Paulo occasionally took DeBrodie out of his designated residence and put him in the basement of the personal home she shared with the senior Flores.
Sometime around September 2016, DeBrodie suffered an acute medical emergency while in the basement of Anthony Flores' and Paulo's personal home. Despite observing DeBrodie's physical distress and obvious medical need at that time, the couple admitted, they did not seek medical care for DeBrodie, and he died while in their home.
In the plea agreements, Paulo admitted she subsequently placed DeBrodie's body in a trash can and transported the body to DeBrodie's assigned residence, where she and Anthony Flores put it in a wooden crate, which they filled with cement.
Paulo's brother, Anthony R.K. Flores, 33, of Fulton, pleaded guilty in February. In a plea agreement, he admitted to helping the couple transport the crate to the storage unit. He also told Fulton police he had seen DeBrodie at a barbecue at his house that April 16, when he hadn't actually seen him in at least six months.
In summer 2016, Mary Paulo's mother, Sherry Paulo, told her to stop coming to work, according to the DOJ. Mary Paulo did so for a number of months, though she continued to receive pay.
In August 2016, at her mother's request, Mary Paulo took another Second Chance Homes resident to one of DeBrodie's scheduled medical appointments, presented him as DeBrodie, and obtained a new prescription in DeBrodie's name. Paulo did so knowing the resident was not DeBrodie and that she had not seen DeBrodie in months, she admitted in her plea agreement.
She returned to work in the fall and noticed DeBrodie's absence at Second Chance Homes, according to the DOJ.
In April 2017, when Second Chance Homes was about to be purchased by another company, Sherry Paulo gave her several documents to sign - some of which attested she had cared for DeBrodie over the nine months during which she hadn't so much as seen him.
Then, after Sherry Paulo reported DeBrodie missing, Mary Paulo gave a false report to police, claiming she had seen DeBrodie at Anthony R.K. Flores' barbecue.
Paulo faces a maximum of 24 months incarceration. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
"This caregiver neglected her responsibility to a vulnerable victim, helped cover up criminal activity, and lied to federal law enforcement agents," U.S. Attorney Tim Garrison of the Western District of Missouri said in a news release. "Her complicity is inexcusable, and her obstruction of justice won't be tolerated. She will be held accountable, alongside her brother and her parents, for her role in this brazen scheme."
Paulo also has been charged at the state level with making a false report of a missing person, a misdemeanor. She has pleaded not guilty. Her next court appearance in that case is scheduled for mid-May.