Irvine police kill caretaker after he allegedly stabbed his former client to death

By Lesley Marin

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    IRVINE, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Irvine police killed a man after he allegedly stabbed his former client to death early Monday morning.

Detectives from the Irvine Police Department first learned about the killing when a caregiver found 38-year-old John Bash stabbed to death after a gold Honda minivan crashed into the garage of his Whistling Swan home.

After finding Bash’s body, officers scoured the neighborhood for the driver of the minivan. Shortly later, they encountered 47-year-old Aaron Matthew Shindle at the intersection of Stonecreek South and West Yale Loop. Shindle, Bash’s former caretaker, was a bloody knife in his hands when officers first started talking to him.

He then raised the knife and charged towards the officers, prompting them to open fire. Shindle later died at a local hospital.

The chaotic series of events shocked and saddened neighbor Marilyn Botzenhardt, especially after detectives said her neighbor was killed by his former caregiver.

“He was always really nice to us and I’m just blown away,” Botzenhardt said.

Neighbors said Bash was in a wheelchair after suffering an accident several years ago. Botzenhardt wondered why someone would harm a person so defenseless.

“I can’t believe that,” she said. “Who would do that?”

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will handle the investigation since officers opened fire. Officers were wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting.

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