PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner has released its report into the April death of a disabled group home patient in Phoenix.
The report states that 50-year-old William Henry Miller’s primary cause of death was likely an irregular heartbeat linked to hardened arteries, but environmental heat exposure and other medical conditions, including a long-term brain condition, may have played a role.
Temperatures at the time were around 100°F.
Miller died on April 10 after being left unattended in a van outside his group home. His caretaker, Nuru Niyonkuru, was arrested and charged with vulnerable adult abuse.
A Phoenix group home caretaker was arrested for physical abuse after a disabled patient died in his care.
Court paperwork revealed that Niyonkuru admitted to drinking a small bottle of Crown Royal before his shift and was supposed to take Miller to an appointment before cancelling and taking Miller to his apartment.
The arresting documents state that the two later went out to purchase more alcohol before returning to the group home. Niyonkuru left Miller in the van and asked someone inside the home to keep an eye on him.
Miller was later found slumped over and unresponsive in the van. Paramedics were called, but he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Other group home employees told detectives that Niyonkuru had a drinking problem and was known to drink during his shift at least once or twice per week.
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