A husband and wife remain in the Cochise County jail awaiting trial on charges of attempted premeditated murder after an emaciated, elderly relative with dementia and Parkinson’s was found unresponsive in his Willcox home earlier this month.
The 84-year-old victim was admitted to a local hospital on April 5 with life-threatening medical issues. He had been left without sufficient access to food and locked inside what court records paint as a house of horrors while his caregiver went out of town.
At the time, Willcox PD Det. Marsha Callahan-English noted in her report that the man “is not expected to survive this time due to the lack of care / nutrition that he was not receiving.” As of April 20, the man is still alive but this condition and prognosis are not addressed in court records.
The person responsible for the man’s care was his granddaughter, Abigail Marian Ayala, who had taken charge of his affairs through a power of attorney.
Ayala, 38, was taken into custody April 6 after returning to her grandfather’s home. In addition to the attempted murder charge, she has been indicted on felony abuse of a vulnerable adult along with financial crimes. Her bail is set at $250,000.
According to court records, the victim had been previously seen at Northern Cochise Community Hospital in Willcox about 10 times in the last few months, “each time getting worse with bed sores, bruising and loss of weight.”
When he was found April 5, the grandfather was in a near-death condition with bruising all over his body and was excessively dehydrated. Hospital staff notified the Arizona Department of Economic Security’s Adult Protective Services and Willcox PD of the suspected elder abuse.
Callahan-English’s report notes that the victim was found inside his locked house. There was a bicycle lock on one refrigerator in the home and the other contained “beer and no nutritional food.” The man’s catheter was also full.
Hospital staff told investigators that Abigail Ayala was aware her grandfather could “bleed to death” if he fell and could die “if his nutritional needs were not maintained.” Despite that warning, “Ayala still left him alone in the residence while she went out of town,” Callahan-English noted, adding that this was not the first time Ayala had left the man alone for extended periods of time.
In a post-Miranda interview, Ayala purportedly admitted her grandfather was not mentally coherent to make decisions, which is why she was his power of attorney. She also admitted locking her grandfather in his home so she could spend the week in Kingman where her husband works.
Ayala further admitted not taking the elderly man to his medical appointments. She reportedly told the primary care physician that her grandfather was in hospice, while telling a relative the man had been placed in a nursing home and could not have visitors.
Ayala is also facing criminal charges in Willcox Justice Court involving children who were in her care.
The case then took an unexpected turn when DES Inspector Hector Rivera contacted Willcox PD to report that hospital officials expressed concerns that Ayala’s husband, Ruben Adrian Ayala, came to visit the elderly man and appeared to be trying to influence him.
“It was determined that Ruben Ayala had told (the grandfather) that his granddaughter was in jail and they didn’t think she would be getting out, so if (the grandfather) didn’t drop the charges they didn’t know what would happen to him,” Callahan-English noted.
Ruben Adrian Ayala was booked into the Cochise County jail April 8 for allegedly going to the hospital and trying to influence the victim’s statements to police. He too is charged with attempted murder and abuse of a vulnerable adult, along with one count of attempting to influence witness testimony.
Ruben Ayala, 39, is being held in lieu of a $100,000 appearance bond.
The couple are also charged in connection with theft of the elderly man’s assets. Abigail Ayala reportedly admitted taking her grandfather’s money for family trips and personal expense, none of which benefited the man.
“They took cash withdrawals regularly from his account,” Callahan-English noted in the probable cause statement. The account was found to be $3,000 overdrawn.
A county grand jury was presented with evidence that from 2018 to 2023 the Ayalas “knowingly did control (the grandfather’s) property, of a value of $100,000 or more, with the intent to deprive” him of the property. This resulted in four additional felony charges, including fraudulent schemes and theft from a vulnerable adult.
The Ayalas are set to be arraigned April 24. A joint trial date is expected to be set at that time.