PHOENIX — A man who co-owned an adult care home in north Phoenix has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for killing one of the home's patients.
Valer Catuna, 55, recently pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced Friday to an aggravated prison term of 21 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections, according to the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
Catuna admitted to being responsible for the death of 53-year-old William Griswold, who was admitted as a patient at the Artemis Adult Care Home in December 2019 after sustaining a traumatic brain injury in a car crash.
On Oct. 21, 2020, Catuna got into a fight with Griswold over the patient's request for a cigarette. The dispute escalated to Catuna pinning Griswold to his bed and punching him. The victim sustained seven broken ribs and his spleen was ruptured.
No emergency help was called for up to nine hours.
The assault occurred in the morning and Griswold passed away from his internal injuries that evening, court records show.
Catuna was charged with second-degree murder a few months after Griswold's death.
"The details of this case are unconscionable. Mr. Griswold deserved better, as all vulnerable adults do," said Attorney General Kris Mayes in a statement.
Information on how to report elder abuse in Arizona can be found here.
*Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*
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