A caretaker has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of his elderly client, the Travis County sheriff’s office said.
The arrest came on Friday after deputies responded to a request for a welfare check at a home in the 16300 block of East Lake Shore Drive in Spicewood, the office said. When they arrived, the deputies found an 80-year-old, wheelchair-bound man in “advanced stages of decomposition.” They also found the man’s caretaker, 37-year-old Chad Wayne Christopher, of Austin.
The sheriff’s office said a family member requested the welfare check of the deceased man, who authorities have not yet identified. The relative said the man had been living with a caretaker because he required assistance but that the caretaker had stopped communicating with the family.
Christopher was charged with murder and is being held on a $250,000 bond at the Travis County jail, records show.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Travis County sheriff’s office tip line at 512-854-1444.
