One of the men accused of tying an amputee to a wheelchair and leaving him to die in extreme heat died this weekend, authorities confirmed.
Troy Wright was in police custody at the Lower Buckeye Jail in south Phoenix at the time of his July 4 death, which detectives were investigating, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff's Office could not yet confirm the cause of death, as it was waiting for the results of a medical examiner’s report, spokesperson William Jinks said.
The 45-year-old was arrested July 2 on suspicion of kidnapping and murder.
That came nearly a week after Phoenix police arrested 41-year-old Hector Corrales in connection with the same charges.
Police believe that both men are responsible for the death of 33-year-old Aaron Goodyke, a diabetic amputee whose health began to deteriorate while living at Corrales’ mother’s house in south Phoenix.
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Corrales and Wright are suspected of binding Goodyke to a wheelchair with plastic bags before wheeling him out to the canal near South Mountain on June 25, police said.
There, officers later found Goodyke slouched in the wheelchair while the Phoenix Fire Department pronounced him dead, according to arrest records.
Wright was scheduled to appear in Maricopa County Superior Court for a preliminary hearing on July 8, according to court filings.
However, his death adds another wrinkle to an already complex backstory that led to the incident.
