Hudson Valley, New York Care Facility Death Takes Dark Turn

An arrest has finally been made months after a non-verbal Hudson Valley resident was found dead inside a parked van. Prosecutors say the death was preventable.

An employee at New Horizons Resources in Hyde Park is arrested in connection with the death of a resident.

Arrest Dates Back To Death In August

In August, New York State Police from Rhinebeck went to the New Horizons Resources residential facility, located at 201 Cream Street in the Town of Hyde Park, for a report of a 26-year-old male resident who was found deceased in a transportation van owned by New Horizons Resources Inc.

The van was parked at the facility at the time.

Days later, the deceased was identified as Thomas Anderson, 26, of Hyde Park.

An autopsy conducted by the Dutchess County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death was environmental heat exposure.

Employee Charged

On Wednesday, following an indictment by a Dutchess County grand jury, 66-year-old Owen Ekpo of Poughkeepsie was arrested and charged with criminally negligent homicide, a class E felony.

“The Indictment alleges that the defendant, who was entrusted with the care and supervision of a highly vulnerable individual, failed to perform the most basic and required safety checks, with devastating consequences," District Attorney Anthony Parisi stated.

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Officials say Anderson was a resident with severe intellectual disabilities and autism. He was nonverbal and needed round-the-clock supervision and could not perform activities without repeated prompting from caregivers.

What Officials Say Happened

It's alleged that on the day of his death, Ekpo was responsible for transporting Anderson and other residents from their residence located at Cream Street to a New Horizons-run day habilitation program at West Road.

Ekpo didn't remove Anderson from the vehicle and bring him into the building, as he's required to do, officials say.

It's also alleged that Ekpo didn't check the vehicle to ensure there were no passengers inside the vehicle when he left the day program.

Ekpo then drove back to Cream Street, parked the car, locked the doors, and left for the day. The car was parked in an unshaded location with the windows closed.

It was about 84 degrees on August 4.

A staff member found Anderson deceased in the back seat of the vehicle several hours later.

"The Grand Jury found sufficient evidence that the defendant’s actions and omissions created a substantial and unjustifiable risk, resulting in a tragic and preventable death," Parisi added.

Ekpo was arraigned in Dutchess County Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center.