SALT LAKE CITY — Utah state inspectors had not observed clients receiving care at Safe and Sound Services for nearly two years before three disabled men died after being left for hours in a running van, according to state licensing records and charging documents.
On Feb. 6, 2026, a Safe and Sound Services employee left “three clients in a running vehicle unattended” inside his garage and went into his home, according to a Notice of Emergency Agency Action issued by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Hours later, the three men were found unresponsive and were pronounced dead by medical personnel.
Prosecutors have charged 25-year-old Isaiah Vaughn Pulu with three counts of murder. Charging documents allege Pulu was supposed to take the men on an approved outing but instead drove home, parked in his garage and left the van running for about 4½ hours while he went inside to eat and watch TV…