A resident of an Anchorage assisted living facility is facing murder charges after police say he fatally assaulted another man who lived at the complex last month, according to court records.
A grand jury on Tuesday indicted Johnathen Larsen, 32, on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, among others, in connection to the death of 47-year-old Nicholas Thorne, court records show.
Larsen, according to prosecutors and an Anchorage Police Department statement, struck Thorne in the head with a blunt object Feb. 6 at an assisted living facility where the two men lived. The facility serves those who are unable to care for themselves or have a diminished mental capacity.
Thorne died from his injuries at a hospital on Feb. 21, police said in a Wednesday statement.
The grand jury also indicted Larsen on charges of first-degree and second-degree assault in connection to an attack that left a different resident of the facility with non-life-threatening injuries earlier that day, according to court records and police.
Larsen originally faced three assault charges after the attack of Thorne, according to an initial charging document filed Feb. 7. Prosecutors dropped those charges Tuesday, the day of the grand jury indictment, according to online court records.
Anchorage Superior Court Judge Christina Rankin ruled Larsen incompetent to stand trial on Feb. 11 for an initial period of 90 days, court records show.
Police were called to the home, which has a capacity of 16 residents, on the 3900 block of East Eighth Avenue at about 9:20 a.m. Feb. 6 after a resident was attacked and “bleeding profusely” from a head injury, prosecutors said in the initial charging document. A resident with a “diminished mental capacity,” according to the document, told police that Larsen repeatedly hit the victim in the head with a large pot.
Officers declined to arrest Larsen after staff members and other residents were unable to provide detailed information about the incident and did not name him as a suspect, prosecutors said.
Police returned to the facility about three hours later after a caretaker reported hearing a loud noise and seeing Larsen leaving Thorne’s room, according to the charging document.
The staff member found Thorne bleeding on his bed with severe head trauma, according to prosecutors’ summary of the incident. Prosecutors said officers found a fire extinguisher covered in blood lying next to Thorne.
Thorne was taken to a hospital, where he was placed in intensive care and unable to breathe on his own, according to prosecutors.
Facility staff and residents told police that Larsen had been acting aggressively and attempting to fight others at the home the night before, and morning of, the attack, prosecutors said in the charging document.
Larsen’s arraignment is scheduled for Thursday.
Additional competency hearings are scheduled for April, according to online court records.
Larsen’s lawyer, Office of Public Advocacy attorney Hannah Thorssin-Bahri, declined to comment on his behalf.
