Police say she assaulted her husband. Days later, they found him still lying on the floor.

A 68-year-old Lexington woman has been charged with assaulting her husband, and police said she apparently left him on the floor for days before calling for help.

Lexington police were called to the couple’s home on the 900 block of Holly Springs Drive at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday because a 76-year-old man had been reported unconscious and lying on the floor.

He was taken to the hospital in serious condition.

On Friday, police announced that they had arrested the man’s wife, Carol Ann Hignite, charging her with first-degree assault.

Police said Thursday that they thought the man, whose wife was his caregiver, had fallen hit his head.

But later that day, they said they went back to the house to execute a search warrant after they found out that he might have been lying there for days. Police said Friday that the assault occurred Monday.

A fire broke out at the house while police were investigating inside it Thursday night.

Police said they were in the house in the Gardenside neighborhood when they realized that it was beginning to fill up with smoke.

The fire was confined to the basement of the house, Fire Battalion Chief Mark Harvey said. Firefighters were able to extinguish it quickly and there were no injuries.

Fire officials said Saturday that the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Lexington police Lt. Jackie Newman said Thursday night that the man’s wife had been at the hospital with him at the time of the fire.

This story was originally published September 30, 2017 at 8:59 AM with the headline "Police say she assaulted her husband. Days later, they found him still lying on the floor.."