Denver care provider arrested in connection to death of client with intellectual disabilities
A Denver man was arrested in connection to the death of a client with intellectual disabilities that he was in charge of caring for, the Denver Police Department announced Monday.
Police said 39-year-old Ben Garbooshian is being held for investigation of second-degree murder for the death of the unidentified male victim.
Garbooshian is a host home provider who receives government money for housing and caring for individuals with intellectual development disabilities. The victim was a line-of-sight client of Garbooshian, the arrest affidavit said.
On Saturday at 2 p.m., police received a 911 call reporting an injured man in Garbooshian’s home in the 3200 block of South Utica Street. Police found the client suffering from an apparent head injury. He died later that day.
Garbooshian refused to speak to police and requested an attorney, but the witness who called 911 said Garbooshian pushed the victim, causing him to hit his head, the affidavit said.
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The witness said the victim was agitated and got into an argument with Garbooshian while holding a bean bag chair.
The witness said Garbooshian pushed the bean bag chair in the victim’s hands, causing the victim to “fly back” approximately 5 feet, hitting his head on the frame of a couch and then on the floor, the affidavit said.
Less than four hours after the injury, the victim was pronounced dead at a hospital. Initial examinations suggest the victim might have died from the head trauma, but an autopsy will determine the official cause of death, police said.
The investigation into the client’s death is ongoing, police said.
More information about the victim and his cause and manner of death will be released by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner in the coming days.