A Florida county official was arrested for allegedly killing his elderly grandfather while the man was in hospice care.
Christopher Michael Balter, 35, is accused of giving Gilbert Balter an overdose of the sleeping medication Ambien that was not prescribed to him, according to court documents.
Prosecutors allege that a childhood friend of Balter told Palm Bay police that he had texted her that his grandfather, whom she said was in his 90s, had died.
The friend reportedly called Balter — who was living with his grandfather at the time — to check in on him after receiving the bad news. While they talked on the phone, Balter allegedly admitted to her that he “killed” his grandfather by giving the elderly man his sleeping pills, according to an affidavit.
Balter allegedly told the woman that his grandfather was going to be cremated and that there would be no evidence of his actions. He allegedly said his grandfather had been in a vegetative state and had not moved or spoken in four days.
The friend said she was uncomfortable reporting the call because Balter serves as the director of Planning and Development for Indian River County.
Balter resigned from his position following his arrest, according to FOX 35.
Investigators had the friend call Balter back and put him on speaker phone to see if he would admit his actions. The two began arguing about what Balter allegedly did to his grandfather.
“I’m nervous about what you said about grandpa,” she said during the call.
“OK, people do that all the time to help people out. That is what hospice is. They load them full of f***ing pain meds and ease their way out,” Balter reportedly said, according to court documents.
When she pointed out that he had told her he killed his grandfather, Balter reportedly replied that “I didn’t kill him. I helped him out.”
An autopsy found that Ambien had been found in the grandfather’s blood. The man did not have an Ambien prescription. The autopsy determined that the “combination of morphine, zolpidem (Ambien) and Lorazepam toxicity cannot be ruled out as contributory to the death.”
Detectives also claim that Balter allegedly forged the witness’s signature on the deed for the grandfather’s home. She told police she was not aware of the document and had never signed anything of the sort.
