Florida – In a deeply troubling case in Florida, a former 35-year-old county official, identified as Christopher B., is facing criminal charges after giving his grandfather a lethal mix of medications under the guise of mercy. Authorities have charged Christopher with delivery of a controlled substance and forgery in connection with the February 1 death of his 90-year-old grandfather, identified as Gilbert B.
The charges stem not only from the circumstances surrounding the elderly man’s death but also from a real estate document that Christopher allegedly falsified in the days leading up to the incident. Police say the quitclaim deed, which would have transferred ownership of Gilbert’s home, was forged with a fake witness signature. According to the arrest affidavit, the investigation began when a friend of Christopher’s, K. Rutherford, approached police with disturbing claims. In text messages and phone calls, Christopher openly discussed his role in Gilbert’s death. He insisted it was an act of compassion, telling Rutherford, “I didn’t kill him. I helped him out.” When she challenged him, pointing out he administered medication that hadn’t been prescribed, he responded, “Yes, and I would have done the same for you if you needed it.”
The medications involved included Ambien (medication primarily used for the short-term treatment of sleeping problems) and morphine, along with other powerful sedatives like Haldol and Lorazepam. According to the police, Gilbert was not prescribed Ambien at all — but his grandson had previously been issued prescriptions for it, suggesting it may have been taken from his own supply. In a recorded phone call that Rutherford made while working with investigators, Christopher claimed such actions are not unusual in hospice care. He told her, “That is what hospice is. They load them full of f—ing pain meds and ease their way out.” When Rutherford reminded him he wasn’t part of hospice staff, he argued, “We were in hospice care dosing him; that’s what hospice at home is.”
Asked directly how he administered the drugs, Christopher reportedly said, “I did not inject him. I gave it to him in his mouth,” later adding that his grandfather had been vomiting on himself and didn’t want to live that way anymore. “So, if that helps you sleep at night, yes,” he said of the death, according to the affidavit. Despite Christopher’s claims that Gilbert asked to die, records from the hospice company contradict his narrative. Gilbert had entered hospice care on January 29, 2025. According to staff, he had expressed a desire to continue living during a conversation just 19 days before his death. Hospice logs also indicate that Gilbert remained alert on January 30 — only two days before he died — countering Christopher’s claim that his grandfather had been in a vegetative state for four days.
Gilbert’s condition did decline rapidly in those final days, with hospice staff describing him as non-verbal and unresponsive. However, the presence of Ambien — a drug never prescribed to him — raised immediate red flags during the postmortem investigation. Investigators uncovered an attempt by Christopher to gain control of his grandfather’s property. The night before Gilbert entered hospice care, Christopher approached Rutherford, asking her to sign as a witness on a quitclaim deed that would hand over Gilbert’s home. When she refused, Christopher allegedly forged her name on the notarized document anyway. Rutherford, disturbed by the request, later messaged a friend calling Christopher a manipulator. “He is such a user,” she wrote. “Makes my skin crawl.”
At the time of his arrest on August 3, Christopher was serving as the county’s director of planning and development. He has since resigned from the role. The case is now progressing through the criminal justice system, with Christopher facing serious charges as investigators continue to piece together what happened in the final days of Gilbert’s life — and whether an act claimed as mercy was in fact something much darker.
