A Beaverton woman who collected government benefits as the body of her dead son lay in a bedroom of her home for five months was sentenced Tuesday to four years and nine months in prison.
Melissa Lappin, 44, earlier this summer pleaded guilty to several felonies, including abusing a corpse, first-degree theft and first-degree forgery for her continued collection of state benefits after the death of her son, Eric, in May 2024.
Eric Lappin was 26 when he died, Washington County Deputy District Attorney Christina Luedtke said during Lappin’s sentencing hearing.
Lappin told authorities that her son had choked to death and that she discovered he had died the following day, Luedtke said.
“For the next five months after that, Ms. Lappin proceeded to collect government benefits,” Luedtke said. “She proceeded to lie and forge documents in order to collect those government benefits.”
She said the state benefits amounted to nearly $24,000. Lappin’s lawyer, Ryan Corbridge, said his client received the benefits because she served as her son’s caregiver. He said she worked at times but mostly cared for him full time.
Corbridge told Circuit Judge Rebecca Guptill that Eric Lappin had Down syndrome, autism and was nonverbal.
Lappin served as her son’s primary caregiver, Luedtke told the judge.
Lappin lied to her friends and family, telling them that her son was alive, Luedtke said.
The prosecutor said the case came to light last fall after Lappin’s father arrived at the home and “demanded to see his grandson” after not seeing him for months.
He entered the home and “instead of his grandson he found a decomposed body,” she said.
Lappin had an unusually close relationship with her son given his vulnerable condition, Corbridge told the court.
“This was a relationship that did not go the natural course,” he said. “Instead, it remained in that infant stage for 26 years.”
He said Lappin has been diagnosed with depression and “bereavement disorder” and that she has held a steady job with Columbia Sportswear for the past 10 months, earning recognition for her work.
He said she acted not out of greed but “out of fear of letting people know that her child had died.”
He sought a sentence of probation.
Lappin addressed the court, saying she is “filled with deep regret for the actions that have brought me here.”
She offered no explanation of her “selfish” decisions surrounding her son’s death.
“I can’t claim to fully understand how I ended up making the choices I did, but I don’t expect anyone else to either,” she said. “But I know they were wrong and I know they hurt the person I love most in this world. Even after he was gone, I apologized to Eric numerous times a day.
“I do not stand here making excuses,” she said. “I stand here to take full responsibility for my actions.”
She agreed to repay the state the benefits she received.
Guptill rejected probation for Lappin, noting Lappin’s deception and her decision to leave her son’s body unattended for 105 days.
“I can’t begin to understand how that happened and how during that timeframe you continued to accept the money” from the state, Guptill said.
“This is just an unfortunate circumstance,” the judge said. “I feel badly for everyone’s loss here. At the end of the day, this is about Eric.”
Guptill said she also took into account Lappin’s criminal history, which she said included “some lying behaviors.” Lappin has 2003 and 2006 convictions for animal neglect and passing a bad check.
Lappin’s relatives sobbed and cried out to her as deputies placed her in handcuffs and led out the door to the county jail.
“I love you,” one said.
“Eric will be with you,” another told her.
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