INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — Just three days after his arrest, Indian River County's Director of Planning and Development, Christopher Michael Balter, resigned from his position.
Balter, 35, was arrested on August 3 on suspicion of killing his grandfather, according to the Palm Bay Police Department.
An arrest affidavit states that on February 3, 2025, police responded to a Melbourne home after Kristen Rutherford, a longtime friend of Balter, reported an allegation of homicide.
Rutherford told detectives that while texting in a group chat on February 1, Balter said his grandfather, Gilbert Balter, had passed away. Gilbert, who was in his 90s and on hospice care, had been living with Chris since November 2024.
When Rutherford later called to check on him, she says Balter told her he had “killed” his grandfather by giving him several of his own prescribed medications, primarily Ambien. He allegedly claimed Gilbert’s body was already at a funeral home awaiting cremation; therefore, no evidence would be found of this happening.
Rutherford told police she was hesitant to come forward due to Balter’s professional connections and believed he may have been intoxicated when making the statement. She said he had a history of drinking and three prior DUIs.
At the detective's request, Rutherford conducted a controlled phone call in which Balter allegedly defended his actions, saying, “Ok, people do that all the time to help people out. That is what hospice is. They load them full of f**king pain meds and ease their way out.” When she reminded him he was not a hospice worker, he replied, “You’re thinking about yourself in this, which is very selfish."
"I didn't kill him. I helped him out", Balter added.
Balter was arrested on charges of delivery of a controlled substance and forgery, both third-degree felonies. He is being held at the Brevard County Jail on a $22,500 bond.
Balter previously served as Palm Bay’s urban planner from 2013 to 2022 and was most recently Indian River County’s Director of Planning and Development.
