WASHINGTON — A 77-year-old resident of a senior living center in Alexandria, Virginia, will not face charges in connection with another resident’s death after an argument about a TV became physical, the prosecutor’s office announced Wednesday.
“The police investigation revealed no evidence that suggested that the 77-year old intended to cause death or great bodily harm, nor any evidence that he acted with premeditation or malice,” Bryan Porter, the commonwealth’s attorney, said in a statement. “Instead, the evidence establishes that the death was unintentional.”
The 77-year-old resident of the Sunrise of Alexandria Senior Living Center briefly argued with an 82-year-old man on Oct. 24 about whether to turn the TV off before pushing him, the prosecutor said. The older man fell to the ground and fractured his hip. His injury later led to “cardiac complications,” and he died two days later.
Both men lived in a special unit at the center for people with memory impairment or dementia.
The 77-year-old is “caught in the throes of severe dementia,” Porter said in the statement. The man was “unable to converse cogently” with a detective about the incident “and seemed unable to understand who the detective was or what he was investigating,” he said.
Porter said the man would likely be deemed incompetent to stand trial even if charges were brought.
The 77-year-old man, Porter added, has been moved to another facility in the state.
