Denver prosecutors on Wednesday charged a caregiver who was responsible for an intellectually and developmentally disabled man with criminal negligence after police found the victim severely malnourished, naked and covered in feces in 2019.
Michael R. Hill, 40, was the host home provider and caretaker for the victim from October to December 2019, according to an arrest affidavit.
Denver police began investigating Hill after Colorado Adult Protective Services became concerned about the victim’s care.
The initial report of potential maltreatment stated that Hill refused to take the victim to day programs. The victim was not given medication and Hill did not answer the phone to allow required audits or client visits, according to the arrest affidavit.
Investigators reported “a strong smell of Urine and feces” inside the home.
Police also said there were large piles of clothes strewn across the home and soiled “Puppy Pads” on the floor with feces and urine. The victim was in a “horrific” state — malnourished, naked and covered in feces on his legs, back and arms, according to the affidavit.
The victim was taken to Rose Medical Center, where he drank water very quickly and ate “food vigorously as if he had not had food or water in a long time,” according to the affidavit.
The reporting party told police that the victim had been using their services for over three years and that the company had begun documenting issues such as missed audits and forms that were not turned in.
The reporting party also told investigators that Hill did not submit required weight forms each month, and it appeared the victim had not been to a doctor since 2017.
The victim also wasn’t receiving his medications, since nurses failed to deliver the medicine to Hill, according to the affidavit.
Police obtained an arrest warrant for Hill on May 13 and arrested him on July 27, 2022, a Denver police spokesman said.
Denver police and the Denver District Attorney’s Office did not say why it took nearly two and a half years to obtain an arrest warrant despite a serious bodily injury report being completed in March 2020.
“Because this case is now pending before the court, I’m not at liberty to address your questions outside of the courtroom,” a spokeswoman for the attorney’s office said in an email.
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