ARIZONA NEWS

Grand jury indicts Phoenix adult care facility owner in patient’s murder

Mar 26, 2021, 7:32 AM

Valer Catuna (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Mugshot)...

Valer Catuna (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Mugshot)

(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Mugshot)

PHOENIX – The owner of an adult care facility in Phoenix has been indicted on murder charges of a patient, Arizona officials said.

Valer Catuna, 52, is accused of beating William Griswold to death last year at Artemis Adult Care Home near 35th Avenue and Bell Road.

He was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and vulnerable adult abuse by a state grand jury Wednesday, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said.

Catuna was arrested Feb. 24.

Griswold, 53, had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, had difficulty speaking and was “completely dependent upon Valer Catuna and other employees for his day-to-day needs and care,” according to the Phoenix Police Department’s probable cause statement.

Griswold’s Oct. 21 death was initially noted by first responders as a medical event with no signs of foul play, police said.

But someone else who lives at the facility later told police that several hours before Griswold died, Catuna argued with him, pushed him onto his bed and repeatedly punched him in the head.

The medical examiner performed an autopsy and determined that Griswold died of blunt force trauma.

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Grand jury indicts Phoenix adult care facility owner in patient’s murder