Background: The Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center in Warren, Arkansas (KTHV/YouTube). Inset: Zachary Moore (GiveSendGo).
Health services employees in Arkansas are accused of killing a 21-year-old man under their care by holding him face down for nearly 13 minutes and injecting him with a chemical.
Zachary Moore died on Sept. 7, 2025, at the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center. The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) reported that an investigation found that “staff did not follow protocol,” and employees were disciplined.
Moore”s mother, Angela Stephens, is seeking a $725,000 settlement from the state, according to area CBS affiliate KTHV. She said her son had the mental capacity of a 5-year-old.
A report released by Arkansas DHS in October alleged that, on that September day, Moore “became combative, attempting to bite other residents.” Employees at the facility attempted to restrain him but this reportedly proved “ineffective,” so a chemical restraint called Geodon was administered. Geodon is listed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as being used for “the treatment of schizophrenia, as monotherapy for the acute treatment of bipolar manic or mixed episodes,” or as help in treating bipolar disorder.
It wasn’t until later that staff realized he was not breathing.
The Arkansas DHS report does not name Moore, but his family confirmed to the local TV station that the report concerns their son. His mother recalled the moment the facility contacted them with troubling news, saying, “We got the phone call, and the head nurse just told me that Zachary’s passed… that’s it, nothing else.”
“We called for hours,” she added. “It was nearly three hours before we got anybody who called us back.”
Arkansas DHS said as part of its report that 11 DHS employees were put on administrative leave, and one was fired. The agency also changed its leadership at the facility, naming an interim superintendent, and said “additional steps to hold staff who did not follow procedure accountable” would be taken as the investigation continued.
“The loss of one of the residents entrusted to our care at the Southeast Arkansas Human Development Center was wholly unacceptable and is not reflective of the level of care we work to provide Arkansans every day,” Arkansas DHS Secretary Janet Mann said in October. “We offer our deepest sympathies to the individual’s family and are working to both hold accountable those responsible for this incident and make changes throughout our system to prevent future tragedies.”
“While we are limited in the specific information we can provide because of ongoing investigations and to respect the privacy of the resident who died, the information we have shows that there were significant issues throughout the handling of this case,” she added.
According to KTHV, Moore’s death certificate declared his death a homicide as a result of “physiologic stress associated with struggle and prone restraint.” Six people have since been charged with manslaughter and neglect of a vulnerable person in Bradley County, and all are set to appear in court on March 30.
Law&Crime has reached out to the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office for more details on the charges.
Stephens said her son was happy and “loved arts and crafts and loved tractors.”
