Charges have been filed in connection with a September death at a Dartmouth nursing home.Laura Lundquist, 98, the victim's roommate, was charged with second degree murder.
In September, 100-year-old Elizabeth Barrow was found dead in her bed during a routine check of patients at the Brandon Woods Nursing Home. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was strangulation and suffocation.
[District Attorney] Sutter said he wrestled with whether he should bring murder charges against a 98-year-old woman, but in the end, believes it is the right thing to do.
"We're confident those were the right decisions. They were made after great thought and great deliberation.
Sutter said the defendant has a history of paranoia and dementia, so the murder could not have been premeditated, a prerequisite for a first degree murder charge.
Superior Court Judge Lloyd MacDonald ordered that Lundquist be sent to Taunton State Hospital for a competency evaluation prior to being arraigned.
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Elderly Woman Charged In Nursing Home Murder
5 comments:
I hate this. The facility is as much to blame for knowing there was tension between these two and choosing to ignore it.
I hate it for Lundquist, too, as I feel like she wouldn't have done this had she not had a mental illness.
What kind of care are these people giving, when they know there is a history of paranoia and depression?
Exactly right, Thelma. This is an example of how people aren't safe in nursing "homes".
Florida did a recent series on the subject and recently Illinois followed with a series.
Let the tidal wave of exposure grow and grow and maybe nursing facilities will finally be held to task.
It's so very sad for both the victim and the woman who killed her and for their families. So very sad.
any wonder why the last place any person wants to go is a nursing facility or institution? how sad for all involved especially the person who was murdered i agree that this case had to be prosecuted murder is murder without that we wouldn't know about it would we?
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