83-Year-Old Man Arrested After Deadly Assault At Haverhill Nursing Home
HAVERHILL (CBS) – An 83-year-old man was arrested Saturday night after a deadly assault at a Haverhill nursing home.
Police were called to Oxford Manor on Main Street around 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Essex District Attorney's office said a 76-year-old man was assaulted at the facility. He was rushed to Holy Family Hospital but did not survive.
Jose Veguilla was arrested following the incident. He was taken to Holy Family Hospital as well for evaluation.
Veguilla is expected to be arraigned on Monday, though it has not yet been determined if it will be in a courtroom or hospital.
"My dad got to see the body being rolled out and it was just very traumatic for everybody," said Erika Wallace, a patient's daughter. "I've seen some pretty crazy things here, nothing along the lines of this. But just to hear it happen and so close to you, just crazy. My father could have been his roommate."
Resident Gifford Russell said the victim and suspect were roommates. "He was a good old gentleman, he was a nice guy, he didn't deserve what happened to him," he said of the victim, who has not been identified yet.
"This place is a good place but he was at the end of the hall so evidently it just took them a while to get to him," Russell added.
Athena Health Care Systems releases a statement saying, "The Oxford's heart goes out to the families of those involved in last night's incident. Our center is making additional support services available to our staff and residents. The Oxford Center and staff are working with the Haverhill and State Police Departments in their investigation. Based on our initial internal investigation, our staff acted quickly and appropriately in the matter; we are unable to comment further or provide additional details."
Another resident's daughter said no one was made aware of the incident. "They didn't let us know, any of the family, nothing. They didn't even apparently let any of the residents know because I can guarantee you my mother would have told me," said Amanda Williams.