Estelle Amelia Hutchinson, a 53-year-old resident of Orangeburg, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the neglect and mistreatment of vulnerable adults in her care. The announcement was made by South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson on October 22, 2025.
Hutchinson entered her plea in Orangeburg County to charges including Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult, Criminal Conspiracy, and Operating a Community Residential Care Home Without a License. Judge Charles McCutchen sentenced her to five years in prison, with the sentence suspended to three years of active incarceration followed by three years of probation. As part of her sentence, Hutchinson is barred from having any contact with boarding homes, nursing homes, or any other residential care facilities for vulnerable adults.
According to an investigation by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Vulnerable Adult and Medicaid Provider Fraud (VAMPF) unit and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety (ODPS), Hutchinson operated an unlicensed community residential care facility where she confined residents in locked rooms between January 16 and February 15, 2024. The investigation found that she denied residents access to basic necessities such as food, clothing, medicine, shelter, supervision, medical services, and a safe means of exit. Law enforcement placed the residents into emergency protective custody. ODPS firefighters responding to the scene discovered a malfunctioning natural gas heater causing a buildup of gas fumes inside the residence, prompting an immediate evacuation and venting of the facility.
Tracy Timothy Wright, Hutchinson’s co-conspirator, was sentenced earlier this year for his involvement. Wright received a sentence of three years in prison and two years of probation after pleading guilty to Neglect of a Vulnerable Adult and Criminal Conspiracy. Both prosecutions were handled by Assistant Attorney General Emily Klebar.
The VAMPF unit is responsible for investigating Medicaid provider fraud as well as the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of individuals living in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. The unit receives the majority of its funding—75 percent—from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a federal grant of $2,964,287 for fiscal year 2026. The remaining 25 percent ($988,096) comes from state funds.
Attorney General Alan Wilson said, “These crimes are egregious and our office will continue to work tirelessly to protect vulnerable adults in our state.”
