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 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.
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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)
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