Arizona Man Charged with Murder After Elderly Mother Found Covered in Maggots in Chandler Home

Allen Page, 64, faces second-degree murder charges after his 84-year-old mother died in squalid conditions in Chandler, Arizona. Court documents describe maggot-infested wounds and sheets fused to her skin.

Chandler Man Accused of Letting 84-Year-Old Mother Die in Squalor While Sexting Online

An Arizona man is being held on $1 million cash-only bail after his elderly mother was found unresponsive, covered in insects, and lying in her own waste at a home in Chandler — conditions so severe that a hospice nurse later described them as "the most horrific thing I've ever seen in my life," according to court documents obtained by Law & Crime.

Allen Page, 64, faces one count each of second-degree murder and vulnerable adult abuse in connection with the death of his 84-year-old mother, Mary Elenz. He is also charged with four counts of misconduct involving weapons, the Chandler Police Department confirmed.

A nurse's discovery

On Sept. 19, 2025, staff from Hospice of the Valley visited Elenz at her home after Page called the organization the previous day. They found her in what a police report described as "extremely poor physical and living conditions." She was unresponsive.

The first nurse to arrive found soiled blankets stuck to Elenz's skin, with flies circling above the bed and fleas "hopping" on the mattress, according to a charging document. The areas of Elenz's skin not covered by feces or blankets appeared "mottled and pale," the affidavit states.

When the nurse attempted to pull back the blankets, she could not. "When the nurse tried to peel the blankets back to get a look at [the woman] they were stuck to her with live maggots coming out of [the woman's] skin," the charging document reads. "Every crevice or surface of the skin touching the mattress seemed to have open wounds and maggots. She could not get the blanket to come unstuck from skin."

The nurse called for additional help. A team of hospice staffers ultimately transported Elenz to the facility, where she was cleaned and diagnosed with protein-calorie malnutrition. She died there on Sept. 20, 2025. The medical examiner listed her cause of death as pneumonia complicated by skin wounds; the manner of death was initially classified as "undetermined" before the investigation shifted focus to Page.

Sexting while his mother deteriorated

Investigators found that in the hours before the hospice nurse arrived, Page's phone had sent more than 70 outgoing messages — "very nearly all of them related to sexting," according to the charging document. On at least one occasion during that period, Page told someone his mother was "fine."

The nurse described Page as "awkward, avoidant, and making excuses" during her visit. She said he appeared irritated when asked for clean water, towels, and other basic supplies to care for Elenz.

Authorities determined Page had not been employed since 2022 and was drawing on his mother's Social Security income for his own expenses. The affidavit states he "spent an inordinate amount of time engaged in viewing internet pornography and communicating with purported women online," frequently spending money on gift cards for people he had never met who sent him explicit images. "This activity was evidently occurring for hours at a time while Allen was in the same home where [the woman's] condition was worsening to the point observed by hospice staff," investigators wrote.

Wife: He stopped caring for her a month before she died

Page's wife told police that her husband was Elenz's primary caregiver but had stopped providing care roughly one month before her death. She said she did not know when he had last changed his mother's diaper.

"The biggest problem was Allen changing her," the wife said, according to the charging document. "He had a very big problem changing her." She suggested Page was embarrassed and unable to bring himself to perform the task, adding that he was "the sole person responsible" for diaper changes and had been doing it "some" but "not enough."

Court appearance and detention

Page appeared in court on Monday, where additional details from the affidavit and probable cause statement were presented. He is currently held at the Maricopa County Jail. The charges against him — including the weapons counts — remain pending as the case moves forward.

Law & Crime obtained the affidavit and probable cause statement that form the basis of the most detailed allegations reported here.

Source: Law & Crime