TAMPA, FL — A Florida man is facing aggravated manslaughter charges for letting a disabled man die in the back of a hot van.
26-year-old Joshua Russell worked at the Tampa area group home where 35-year-old John Lapointe lived.
After taking Lapointe to a doctor's appointment in May, investigators say Russell went to his own home and took a supplement called Kratom.
It is sometimes used as a recreational drug.
Russell headed for the group home with Lapointe - but he allegedly told police he began feeling "tired and nauseous" - so he returned home, turned the van off, and took a nap.
When he woke up two to three hours later covered in sweat, Lapointe was dead in the back seat, still strapped in his seat belt.
Responding authorities found Russell carrying a concealed gun - which he said he was planning to use to kill himself.
Lapointe was non-verbal and had the cognitive ability of a one-year-old.
