Phoenix police officers who responded to an "unknown trouble" call late on June 25 found a man unresponsive and tied to a wheelchair on the south side of the canal near Baseline Road and 24th Street. The man, later identified as 33-year-old Aaron Goodyke, was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators reported that his hands and chest had been bound to the wheelchair with what appeared to be plastic bags.
At the scene, officers noted what they described as multiple footprints and areas of recent disturbance around Goodyke's body. Police said Goodyke had a below-the-knee amputation of one leg, a detail that was included in the identification. Detectives began piecing together the events that led to the discovery by speaking first with family members, including Goodyke's mother.
Goodyke's mother told investigators that a woman identified as Gloria Barajas had offered to care for her son about a week before his death. Barajas, according to the information contained in court documents, told police that Goodyke had not been eating or drinking and that his health had been declining; she said he repeatedly refused medical attention. Court records indicate the discussion about medical care continued until Goodyke agreed to go to a hospital.
When Goodyke agreed to receive medical treatment, court documents say Barajas' son, Hector Corrales, and a friend of his, later identified as Troy Wright, attempted to load Goodyke into a vehicle. The documents state that at some point during that effort, Goodyke changed his mind and began to flail his arms. Barajas told police that Wright then tied Goodyke's hands to the wheelchair and began moving north on 24th Street before returning to pick up Corrales.
Police reviewed surveillance video taken at Barajas' property and say it shows Corrales and Wright forcefully securing Goodyke to the wheelchair using plastic bags. The court documents allege that at one point the wheelchair was tilted, causing Goodyke to fall backward and strike the back of his head on the house. Investigators also say Wright told a witness that he later wheeled Goodyke into the canal area.
Corrales was initially arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for a parole violation. After the death investigation developed further, authorities booked him on kidnapping and first-degree murder charges; police reported he declined to participate in an interview about the case. Wright was arrested on July 2 and was facing first-degree murder and kidnapping counts as well. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department later confirmed that Wright died while in custody over the Fourth of July weekend. An investigation into his death is underway, and officials have described the cause of death as undetermined pending findings from the medical examiner.
Law enforcement officials continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Goodyke's death. Court filings, interviews with family members and video from Barajas' property are among the materials cited by investigators as they piece together the timeline and actions that preceded the discovery on June 25. Authorities say charges have been filed against at least two individuals connected to the incident, and they are awaiting the medical examiner's report in regard to Wright's death in custody.
A group dining at a restaurant — a photo included in reporting on the south Phoenix death investigation.
Updated reporting from AZFamily and FOX10 Phoenix reveals Goodyke was diabetic and abandoned without insulin or water in temperatures exceeding 105 degrees, with signs he struggled against the restraints. Wright, 45, was one of three inmates who died at Lower Buckeye Jail over the holiday weekend, prompting a safety review by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office; his cause remains under investigation.
An arrest affidavit says Goodyke had been evicted from a hotel and had been staying at Gloria Barajas’s home; two witnesses told police they saw him alive earlier that evening — mumbling and with his pants around his ankles — and one of those witnesses’ relatives later returned and found him dead.
The affidavit notes Goodyke was diabetic and that his leg had been amputated below the knee in April 2026.
Court and booking records identify the arrested man who was later found dead in custody as Troy Amir Lentor Rene Wright, 45; surveillance footage near the canal reportedly shows a man pushing a wheelchair at about 7:00 p.m. and then running away roughly a minute later, and investigators say shoe prints at the scene appear to match the shoes worn by the man seen on video.