An 82-year-old man who was being handled for Covid-19 at a hospital north of Los Angeles was bludgeoned to loss of life with an oxygen tank final week by his roommate, the authorities mentioned.
The boys had been sharing a two-person room at Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, Calif., when the assault occurred on Dec. 17, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division mentioned.
The Sheriff’s Division mentioned the assault had occurred when the sufferer started to hope, angering the roommate, who was recognized as Jesse Martinez, 37. Mr. Martinez struck the older man with an oxygen tank at about 9:45 a.m., the Sheriff’s Division mentioned.
The sufferer, who has not but been publicly recognized, was pronounced lifeless the next morning. A spokeswoman for the hospital mentioned on Thursday that she couldn’t touch upon an ongoing prison investigation.
Mr. Martinez was arrested and charged with homicide, with a hate crime enhancement, and elder abuse. Bail was set at $1 million, and Mr. Martinez is scheduled to seem in Antelope Valley Court docket on Monday, the Sheriff’s Division mentioned. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.
It was not the primary time an individual had been killed in a hospital through the pandemic, as medical services throughout the nation are understaffed and overcrowded, fueling concern and nervousness tied to the coronavirus.
In April, an 86-year-old lady died at Woodhull Medical and Psychological Well being Middle in Brooklyn after one other affected person shoved her for breaking social distancing pointers. The older lady had change into disoriented and had grabbed the opposite affected person’s intravenous stand to steadiness herself.
R. Rex Parris, the mayor of Lancaster, informed The Los Angeles Occasions in a press release that he was shocked by the loss of life of the person who was struck with the oxygen tank.
“These households had been already experiencing a hardship and now this,” he mentioned. “It’s mindless.”