Lawyers for two people accused of neglecting an elderly woman and contributing to her death in Mahanoy City are asking that homicide charges against them be dropped.

Schuylkill County Judge John E. Domalakes is not expected to rule until sometime after July 10.Mahanoy City police officer Thomas J. Rentschler charged John F. Latshaw Jr., 58, and Dorothy Robinson, 54, with third-degree murder, neglect of care of a dependent person, involuntary manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person in the August 2015 death of Latshaw's 76-year old mother, Elaine Latshaw.An autopsy revealed that sepsis and dehydration contributed to her death.Latshaw also suffered from untreated pressure sores on her buttocks, back and feet. One foot was black and appeared mummified, according to an affidavit of probable cause.John Latshaw, who remains free on $25,000 bail, is represented by James G. Conville.Robinson, who remains jailed under the same amount, is represented by Frederick J. Fanelli.District Attorney Christine A. Holman on Wednesday said she submitted a transcript of the preliminary hearing, a tape of Robinson's 911 call, and four photographs depicting Latshaw's "extensive bedsores."Conville and Fanelli have until July 10 to submit their arguments to Domalakes.Holman said that whether Latshaw and Robinson were married figured into the case against them, as does the definition of caregiver/caretaker.Latshaw's and Robinson's lawyers contend they were under no legal obligation to take care of Elaine Latshaw.Holman disagrees, citing state law that defines a caretaker as "any person who has an obligation to care for a care-dependent person for monetary consideration in the settings described (in the law) or in the care-dependent person's home."According to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Rentschler with District Judge Anthony J. Kilker of Shenandoah, Rentschler and Mahanoy City emergency medical crews arrived at Elaine Latshaw's home around 11 a.m. Aug. 15, 2015, after a 911 call concerning a possible death.Robinson and John Latshaw were there, and told Rentschler Elaine Latshaw had died.Her room smelled strongly of urine and feces, and she was in a soaked diaper, lying in a bed on which the bare mattress was soiled with waste and blood.Elaine Latshaw was not breathing, was cold to the touch, and had no pulse, Rentschler wrote.Rentschler wrote that the autopsy report, from Reading Hospital, stated she died from aspiration pneumonia due to multiple pressure ulcerations, gangrene and malnutrition due to hypertensive vascular disease with vascular dementia.Medical neglect contributed to Elaine Latshaw's death, the report said.John Latshaw and Robinson told Rentschler they fed Elaine around 4:30 a.m. that day.Robinson told him she was Latshaw's primary caregiver because John Latshaw is a truck driver and typically gone during the week.Robinson said the elderly woman had developed a cough the previous night, but didn't have medical problems in the past and didn't take any regular medications.Elaine Latshaw had been confined to her bed since being brought home from a Weatherly nursing home in December 2014, Robinson told Rentschler.The officer also found liquid-filled cups and dead maggots.John Latshaw told then-Police Chief John Kaczmarczyk that he had power of attorney for his mother, and that he and Robinson got about $1,200 a month from her Social Security.They used the money to buy adult diapers and medical supplies, but it didn't cover those bills.