Elderly Colorado man deemed incompetent in nursing home killing
By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - An 87-year-old Colorado man who suffers from Alzheimer's disease is incompetent and will not face criminal charges for beating to death a fellow dementia patient at a nursing home, prosecutors said on Friday. Homer Castor is in an advanced stage of the degenerative disease, and should be confined to a mental hospital for the slaying of 76-year-old Gerald Propp, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. Castor was arrested in February after police said he attacked Propp with his fists at the Attria Applewood assisted living center in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a nurse heard Propp crying for help and found him in bed with multiple facial and head wounds. When she asked Castor what happened, he told her: "If he (Propp) says one more word to me, I'm going to kill him," the affidavit quoted her as telling police. A responding police officer said that there was blood splattered on the walls, carpet, and cabinets in the room the pair shared, the affidavit said. The officer also noted Castor had blood on his hands and shirt and when questioned, he was difficult to understand, seemed to be confused and talked about his wrist watch, police said. Propp ultimately died, and an autopsy showed he had suffered a broken nose, injuries to his left eye and face and a brain hemorrhage, the affidavit said. Castor underwent an evaluation at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, where it was determined he was incompetent, prosecutors said. At a court hearing this week, a prosecutor told a judge that they will not charge Castor. The district attorney's statement said it was decided with Castor's lawyers that the best outcome would be to turn the case into a civil proceeding, in which his mental condition would be certified, "and that a long-term mental health hold would then be placed on Mr. Castor." A hearing is set for June, where Castor's mental state will be certified by a judge. Prosecutors say they expect him to be confined to the mental hospital for the rest of his life. (Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra Maler)
