Sitting on
the steps of the now infamous Ivy Apartments in Dallas this is the woman
who Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan flew to the States to marry.
Seen
here for the first time, Louise Troh, 54, is pictured next to her
nephew Jeffrey Cole, who arrived in Dallas from Liberia just days before
Mr Duncan.
Now both Ms Troh and Mr Cole are in quarantine along with her 13-year-old son and a friend.
While
42-year-old Mr Duncan's life continues to hang in the balance, District
Attorney Craig Watkins has revealed that his office is actively
investigating whether or not Mr Duncan will face criminal prosecution
should he recover.
A
spokesperson for the Dallas DA has told MailOnline that he could face
the charge of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon – with the Ebola
virus as that weapon. If convicted this carries a jail term of two to 20
years.
Prayer: Louise Troh, 54, the 'wife' of
Thomas Eric Duncan sitting on the steps of her apartment before with
nephew Jeffrey Cole, who is also now in quarantine with her
Hope: Ms Troh told her pastor that she broke down in prayer on hearing Duncan is getting a new drug
Debbie
Denmon said, 'We are investigating whether Mr Duncan exposed the public
to a deadly virus knowingly which would be criminal intent. We are
looking at what he said on record at the hospital and to the people he
was with and around.'
Ms
Denmon revealed that the DA had received several complaints from
members of the public angry at the revelation that Mr Duncan allegedly
lied on exit documents which asked if he had been exposed to the dreaded
virus.
Meanwhile,
it also emerged that a gofundme site set up to raise money for Duncan
and his medical treatment had only seen $50 donated (of a target
$100,000) in the six days it has been active - despite the huge
publicity his case has raised and the terrible fight for survival he
finds himself in.
The
day before he was due to travel he carried a pregnant woman home when
she was desperately sick with Ebola and had been denied treatment at a
Liberian hospital. She later died of the illness.
Ms Denmon said that this was something the DA was taking 'very seriously'.
She
said: 'It's the District Attorney’s role to keep the public safe and
you just can't have people circumventing procedures and thinking that
they can just hop on a plane, lie on documents, from Liberia and just
enter the country here in Dallas county thinking that there are no
consequences'.
Prosecution: Officials told MailOnline
that Duncan faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
if he recovers because he lied on forms to come into the country.
Pictured here arriving on US soil
The DA
has previously successfully prosecuted an HIV positive man who had
unprotected sex, while knowingly infected, with the charge currently
being considered in Mr Duncan's case.
But
Ms Denmon added ‘On a humane level we're saddened that somebody is
fighting for their life. Here’s someone who tried to help a pregnant
woman and your heart does go out to him.
'It
would be inhumane to prosecute someone on their deathbed so we're
treading very lightly on this one. We're weighing all of that. It's a
very delicate matter'.
Mr
Duncan’s condition remains critical though his family have drawn hope
from the fact that he started receiving experimental drug treatment on
Saturday afternoon.
George
Mason, Senior Pastor at Wilshire Baptist Church, where Ms Troh is a
member, is in daily contact with the stricken woman as she and her
family wait out their 21 days of isolation,.
He
said: 'I can tell you that Louise just began to thank God and broke out
in praise when she heard that they were giving Eric the experimental
drug.
'She was so deeply relieved that they could begin that. It has cheered her tremendously.'
Earlier
Pastor Mason told MailOnline of the family's relief at having been
moved from the Ivy Apartments – which Ms Troh describes as an 'apartment
of sickness' – to a secret location within city limits.
Ms Troh, who has a 19-year-old son by Mr Duncan, left Liberia more than a decade ago after a falling out saw the couple split.
It has been reported that they renewed their relationship following a visit by Ms Troh to Monrovia earlier this year.
But, although they spoke of marriage Pastor Mason said that they had only actually reconnected recently over the telephone.
Support: Duncan's nephew, Josephus
Weeks, is comforted by Jesse Jackson who arrived in Dallas today after
an invitation from the family to help them
Plea: A gofundme page set up for
Duncan has only raised $50 in six days. Many commentors on the page are
angry over Duncan's false claim that he hadn't been exposed to the virus
before traveling to the US
Care: Duncan's mother, Nowah Gartay, was driven 15 hours from Charlotte, NC, to be by Duncan's bedside
He
said: 'Louise hasn't been out of the country in a long time. When they
reconnected it was over the telephone. Their relationship had never led
to marriage in Liberia but that is what they were talking of when Mr
Duncan came here.'
Pastor
Mason and his congregation have shown nothing but compassion for Ms
Troh and her family during their ordeal with the faith community funding
their stay in this new location and providing meals and support.
But a GoFundMe
page set up by Mr Duncan's nephew, Josephus Weeks, has shown a
different face to this crisis with just $50 donated since October 1.
It
reads: 'Mr. Eric Thomas Duncan is the first diagnosed case of EBOLA
within the United States. He came to visit with his son and watch him
graduate high school. Eric needs your help to assist with the costs
incurred by medical treatment. He is fighting for his life in an
isolation unit in Texas. Please support his cause in donating to this
noble charity. Thanks for your consideration!'
Instead
of raising funds it has seen criticism heaped upon Mr Duncan by members
of the public angry at the alleged lie that allowed him and his deadly
virus, into the country.
Commentors
have largely been unkind and lambasted the 'audacity' of the page. One
states that Mr Duncan should be 'charged with attempted murder if he
survives'.
For now his survival depends entirely on the treatment he is receiving at Texas Presbyterian Hospital.
And
just who is footing the medical bill that has already run to tens of
thousands of dollars remains unclear. MailOnline has put the question to
Texas Presbyterian Hospital and is awaiting a response.
You
just can't have people circumventing procedures and thinking that they
can just hop on a plane, lie on documents, from Liberia and just enter
the country here in Dallas county thinking that there are no
consequences
- Dallas District Attorney's Office
Meanwhile, Mr Duncan's mother has traveled to be close to her son as he fights for his life against the deadly virus.
Nowah
Gartay, was driven 15 hours by family members from her home in
Charlotte, North Carolina to Dallas on Monday where she hopes to find a
way to talk to her son.
In
a video message filmed for her son with NBC last week, Mrs Gartay said:
'I love you. I pray for you to get well. My whole thinking is on you.'
Today Rev Jesse Jackson Sr embraced Weeks and Gartay after he landed in Dallas to help the family.
Rev
Jackson landed in Dallas this morning having come, he tweeted, ‘Upon
request of family #ThomasEricDuncan…to bring comfort& to seek best
humanitarian relief America has to offer.’
He
spent the morning with community leaders at the South Dallas Café and
will lead a prayer vigil outside the hospital at 5pm this afternoon.
A
spokesman for the hospital said on Tuesday afternoon: 'Mr. Duncan
remains in critical condition. His condition is stable. He is on a
ventilator and receiving kidney dialysis. His liver function, which
declined over the weekend, has improved, but doctors caution that this
could vary in coming days. He will continue to receive the
investigational medication brincidofovir.'
Speaking
to MailOnline Dallas City Councilor Jennifer Staubach Gates who
represents District 13 in which Vickery Meadows is located complained
about the negative stigma that the case has brought the area.
She
said: 'I've had 15 men come to me today, turned away from their jobs.
I've referred them to lawyers through legal aid. They work at various
Dallas based companies and have been told not to come back for 21 days
unless they can provide a note from the Health Department.'
Ground zero: The final clean up of Troh's apartment has been carried out. Duncan was staying there
Safety: Troh and three others who were in the apartment are now at an undisclosed location donated by others
Ms
Gates stressed that none of these men were being tracked or traced by
the CDC and that none were considered in any way 'at risk'.
She
said that addressing the fundamental misunderstanding and fear that
governs such decisions was her priority in ensuring that an already
vulnerable community did not suffer further.
She
said: 'In order to understand what’s happening you have to understand
the community. Vickery Meadows is 3 square miles and 25,000 people
living in 94 multi-family complexes.
'It’s
a high-density population and the average income is very low. There is a
high number of immigrant families and a lot of agencies place refugees
there because of the affordable houses.'
She
said that the cultural diversity which meant that an estimated 40
languages and dialects are spoken in this small area presented real
challenges when trying to disseminate vital information.
Ms
Staubach Gates was instrumental in pushing for the family at the center
of the crisis to be relocated from their cramped and contaminated
apartment.
She
said she has spoken to an 'enormously relieved' Louise Troh on Friday
shortly before she was relocated. That apartment has now been
decontaminated in two phases and at an estimated cost of $65.000.
Ms
Staubach Gates said she did not know whether the family would ever
return to the apartment and that the details of what might happen once
their ordeal is resolved have not yet been discussed.
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