http___www.tportal.hr_vijesti_svijet_47261_Stogodisnjakinju-ubila-98-godisnjakinja.html_1.xml
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A 98-year-old woman was indicted Friday on a second-degree murder charge that alleges she strangled her 100-year-old nursing home roommate after making the victim's life "a living hell" because she thought the woman was "taking over the room." Laura Lundquist was sent to a state mental hospital for a competency evaluation before her arraignment. Her defense attorney, Carl Levin, said she has a "long-standing diagnosis of dementia, as well as issues of cognitive impairment." She is believed to be the oldest murder defendant in state history, but might never go to trial because of her mental health issues. Her roommate at the Brandon Woods nursing home in Dartmouth, Elizabeth Barrow, was found dead in her bed September 24 with a plastic bag tied around her head. Police initially speculated it was a suicide, but a medical examiner ruled it a homicide after an autopsy indicated strangulation. Barrow's son, Scott Barrow, has said Lundquist complained to nursing home officials about the number of visitors his mother received. He also has said Lundquist had made "threatening" and "harassing" remarks to her. He declined to comment on the indictment, which was handed up Friday by a Bristol grand jury. Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter said Lundquist suffered from paranoia and "harbored hostility toward the victim" and thought Barrow "was taking over the room they shared." Sutter said Barrow complained in the weeks before her death that Lundquist was making her life "a living hell." The night before Barrow was killed, she complained that Lundquist had placed a table at the foot of her bed to block her way to the bathroom. Sutter said Lundquist then punched a nurse's aide who removed the table, which was again found next to the bed at the time Barrow's body was discovered. Lundquist also told Barrow she would soon get her bed by the window because she would outlive her, Sutter said. The two women had been roommates for about a year. Scott Barrow has said he asked nursing home officials to separate the women, but they assured him the two were getting along. He said his mother told him she did not want to leave her room because that's where she and her husband had lived for several years before he died in 2007. A Superior Court judge, acting on a motion filed jointly by prosecutors and Levin, ordered Lundquist sent to Taunton State Hospital for an evaluation. Sutter said the case likely won't ever go to trial because of the possible incompetency finding and because the defense will likely involve mental health issues, which take a long time to prosecute. Levin said that if someone is found not competent to stand trial, the state would likely move for a civil commitment. "Her family is very saddened for the loss of Ms. Barrow, and they are also very saddened by what's happened," Levin said. "Without acknowledging her responsibility, it's a sad event for both families. It just really points to the issue of mental health with the elderly." Prosecutors pursued second-degree murder charges because they didn't believe Lundquist had the cognitive ability to form premeditation, which must be proven in a first-degree murder case, Sutter said. Lundquist is believed to be the oldest murder defendant in state history, Sutter said. "It is my intention to advance this case in a professional, ethical and humane manner," he said. Sutter said prosecutors decided not to file charges against the nursing home, but did not elaborate. Brandon Woods' chief of operations, Scott Picone, said the home was "deeply saddened by this tragic event, and our thoughts and prayers go out to both families." He declined to comment further. In a statement, the home said the roommates acted like sisters, walked and ate lunch together daily and said, "Goodnight, I love you," to each other every night. The home said Barrow declined a room change in July and August. The statement also said the home was establishing a scholarship in Barrow's name, and Scott Barrow was chair of the scholarship committee. Reuse content
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Laura Lundquist, 98-godišnja štićenica staračkog doma u Dartmouthu u Massachusettsu optužena je u petka za ubojstvo cimerice stogodišnjakinje koju je zadavila, nakon što joj je, tvrdi tužiteljstvo, život 'pretvorila u pakao' jer je mislila da joj 'preuzima sobu'. Vjeruje se da je riječ o najstarijoj osobi optuženoj za ubojstvo u povijesti Massachusettsu, no moguće da joj se nikada neće suditi zbog njezinog mentalnog zdravstvenog stanja. Optužena je poslana u psihijatrijsku bolnicu kako bi procijenili njezino stanje, a njezin branitelj Carl Levin rekao je da je riječ o ženi koja dugo godina ima dijagnozu demencije i smanjene kognitivne sposobnosti. Njezina cimerica u staračkom domu Brandon Woods u Dartmouth, stogodišnja Elizabeta Barrow pronađena je mrtva u svom krevetu 24. rujna s plastičnom vrećicom vezanom oko glave. Policija je isprva nagađala da je riječ o samoubojstvu, no obdukcijom je utvrđeno da je starica zadavljena i da se radi o ubojstvu. Sin ubijene rekao je da se optužena požalila u staračkom domu na brojne posjetitelje koji su obilazili njegovu majku te da je imala 'prijeteće i uznemirujuće' primjedbe na žrtvu. Tužitelj je, pak, izjavio da je Laura Lundquist patila od paranoje, gajila neprijateljstvo prema žrtvi i mislila da joj dvije godine starija cimerica 'preuzela' sobu koju su dijelile oko godinu dana. Optužena je prije zločina žrtvi rekla da će uskoro dobiti njen krevet do prozora, jer će je nadživjeti. Nekoliko tjedana prije ubojstva Elizabeta Barrow se, pak, žalila da joj je Laura 'život pretvorila u pakao', a noć prije zločina prigovorila je da joj je 98-godišnja cimerica postavila stol podno kreveta i blokirala put do kupaonice. Medicinske sestre su stol pomaknule, no kada je Elizabeta pronađena mrtva stol je ponovno bio pored njenog kreveta. Njezin sin izjavio je da je od uprave staračkog doma tražio da odvoje žene, no uvjerili su ga da će se dvije cimerice 'snaći'. Njegova majka nije željela otići iz sobe jer je u njoj živjela sa suprugom nekoliko godina prije njegove smrti 2007. Tužitelji Lauru Lundquist progone za ubojstvo drugog stupnja jer ne vjeruju da je bila kognitivno sposobna zločin smisliti unaprijed, što se mora dokazati u slučajevima ubojstva prvog stupnja. Tužiteljstvo je odlučilo da protiv staračkog doma neće pokretati postupak, no tu odluku nisu pojasnili. U priopćenju staračkog doma navodi se, pak, da su se dvije cimerice ponašale poput sestara, da su svakodnevno zajedno šetale i ručale, a pred spavanje bi jedna drugoj zaželjele laku noć. Potvrdili su da je ubijena u srpnju i kolovozu odbila promijeniti sobu. Dom je osnovao stipendiju koja nosi ime Elizabeta Barrow, a njezin sin je predsjednik odbora koji dodjeljuje stipendije. - Sviđa vam se članak? Preporučite ga prijateljima putem ovih servisa: Pošaljite mailom