OREM, Utah, May 6, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 38-year-old man said to have an intellectual disability has been booked into jail after a fatal assault at an Orem care center.
Brandon James Hooks has been arrested for investigation of a single count of murder, a first-degree felony.
Just after 7 a.m. Sunday, Orem police were called to the area of 100 E. 800 South, to a location described as a care center for people with intellectual disabilities.
Hooks, described by family members as having the intellectual capacity of an 8-year-old, was sitting outside when officers arrived. The victim, inside the building, was determined at 7:40 a.m. to be deceased after failed attempts to revive him.
A facility employee told officers she and Hooks had been in the kitchen, making crab cakes, when the victim and Hooks began arguing, and Hooks allegedly began beating the victim, cutting off the man’s air supply by wrapping an arm around his neck, the witness said.
A second employee and the first worked together, but were unable to separate Hooks and the victim, the first employee said. Ultimately, the program director, contacted by speaker phone, was able to convince Hooks to release the victim.
Hooks was taken to the Orem Police station and read a juvenile version of his Miranda Rights, and he spoke to police after a family representative arrived.
“Detectives then began the interview in the form of a Forensic Interview used to interview children that have been witnesses or victims of a crime,” Hooks’ affidavit says.
Hooks reportedly told police he had gotten in a fight with the victim, “then stated he got sick and tired of it and started ‘wailing on him,'” the affidavit says, adding that Hooks reported not knowing whether the victim had died.
Hooks’ family member then ended the interview. Police noted that Hooks had prior assault convictions, and advised he be held without bail.
