Autistic patient goes to snack closet at 3am to look for a cookie. Then police find out why he allegedly never regained consciousness
He reasoned it was to stop him from making noise.
An autistic patient living in an assisted living facility had hoped to snag a cookie for himself in the middle of the night, only for the snack run to end in the loss of his life after an encounter with an employee. 43-year-old Jimmy Alexis was arrested on manslaughter charges on Tuesday after being accused of fatally choking 26-year-old Jason Similien in 2023.
Similien, who had been diagnosed with autism and experienced psychosis and anxiety, was a patient at the Genuine Love and Care assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was described by medical staff as “prone to self-injure” and would “always bang his head” on surfaces, police said, per Law&Crime. On June 30, 2023, staff reported that Similien was “active” during the night and was instructed by Alexis, who was an employee at the facility at the time, to return to his bed at 1am.
When Similien failed to comply, Alexis allegedly “wrapped his arm around [Similien’s] neck in a chokehold” until the patient lost consciousness. Similien reportedly regained consciousness around 3am and went to the snack closet in search of a cookie. Alexis, who became “frustrated,” allegedly put Similien in another chokehold until he passed out again. Alexis claimed that Similien returned to bed on his own and fell asleep at 5am. But when the employee tried to wake him up at 6:45am, Similien was unresponsive.
Autistic patient’s alleged killer arrested after three years
Police were called that morning, and Alexis told officers that Similien “moves around, and I have to restrain him, not choke him.” Similien was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:42 a.m. His death was ruled a homicide.
At the time, Alexis was not arrested. However, when officers interviewed other employees at the facility, a female employee reported witnessing Alexis choke Similien “to the point that he became unconscious.” She said she told Alexis to stop, warning that the patient was being hurt. When she saw Similien being choked a second time, she decided to record the audio on her phone.
Police reportedly made a “controlled call” to Alexis with the help of the employee, and Alexis allegedly instructed the employee on what to say during talks with the police. The employee was warned not to mention the facility’s logbook or provide information that could raise further questions. Alexis was arrested three years after Similien’s death.
Victim’s family files a lawsuit
During the investigation, Alexis claimed that Similien’s noise would be “disruptive” to the other patients in the facility. He said he restrained Similien using a “vertical immobilization” four to five times during the incident.
Similien’s family filed a lawsuit against Genuine Love and Care and its owners. The family’s attorney, Adam Finkle, claimed that several complaints were made against Alexis by his former peers. However, he was never fired until he resigned. In a separate incident, a former caregiver of an assisted living facility is also facing a lawsuit following the death of a patient.
“Jason was actually asking for cookies,” Finkle told WTVJ. “Out of frustration and not being trained adequately, and being in there in the first place when he should have been fired, Jimmy Alexis actually choked and killed Jason.”
Meanwhile, Alexis is charged with aggravated manslaughter and denies the allegations. He is booked in Broward County Jail on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear for a hearing on Oct. 13.
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