YAVAPAI COUNTY, Ariz. — Yavapai County Sheriff's Office detectives arrested a self-appointed caregiver after she allegedly exploited her patient for money between 2018 and 2020.
Christine Garthright, 51, was arrested Wednesday after an investigation prompted by her elderly patient and his daughter showed evidence of theft, deputies said.
In early May 2020, deputies met with the victim for the first time and he explained that he found Garthright on Craigslist and hired her to be a live-in caretaker following a stroke. An initial report was taken before a specialized investigation began, deputies said.
The victim said that he purchased Garthright and her daughter both cars, paid her daughters rent in Washington state and paid several thousand dollars for Garthright's teeth, deputies said.
The investigation showed that between June 2018 and May 2020, Garthright wrote 26 unauthorized checks to herself and wrote eight unauthorized checks to her daughter totaling $11,000, deputies said.
Garthright was using the victim's ATM card to make multiple withdrawals at a time, deputies said.
More recently, the victim said Garthright was not taking on many caregiving duties including taking him to and from the store and appointments. She became verbally and physically abusive when he refused her money, deputies said.
Garthright was arrested after she came to the residence of the victim following an order to not return. She was booked into the Camp Verde Detention Center.
