December 11, 2009 - Police: Woman, 98, Killed Roommate, 100
A 98-year-old woman is charged with strangling and suffocating her 100-year-old roommate at their nursing home in Dartmouth, Mass., authorities said Friday.
Bristol County prosecutors said a grand jury indicted Laura Lundquist on second-degree murder charges in the Sept. 24 death of Elizabeth Barrow, Boston's WCVB-TV reported.
Barrow was found dead in her bed with a plastic bag over her head by staff at Brandon Woods Nursing Home. An autopsy determined she died of manual strangulation and suffocation, WCVB said.
"The investigation revealed that Ms. Lundquist harbored hostility towards Ms. Barrow because she believed Ms. Barrow was taking over the room they shared at the nursing home," Bristol County District Attorney Samuel Sutter said. "Ms. Lundquist made statements prior to Ms. Barrow's death that she would get Ms. Barrow's bed by the window because she was going to outlive her."
Barrow had complained Lundquist was making her life a "living hell," the prosecutor said.
Superior Court Judge Lloyd MacDonald has ordered a competency evaluation for the 98-year-old suspect, who may be the oldest person in Massachusetts history to be charged with second-degree murder, the TV station said.
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