A 76-year-old nursing home resident has been arrested and charged with murder after Rhode Island police investigated the “sudden death” of his roommate.
Officers with the Warren Police Department went to Crestwood Nursing & Rehabilitation just after 10 p.m. on April 27 to investigate the death of an 81-year-old patient, according to The Providence Journal.
A nurse had gone to the mens’ room to check on them when one of the residents, Robert Hill, blocked the door so she couldn’t enter, according to WPRI.
Once she got inside, she saw Hill “standing over the victim,” the outlet reported.
The victim, identified as John Sullivan, was unresponsive and had pillow stuffing in his mouth, according to WJAR.
A supervisor at the nursing home said she could not comment on the open investigation. The Warren Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for information from McClatchy News.
Citing court documents, Tthe Providence Journal reported Hill said multiple times, “He tried to kill me first. He has been trying to kill me for five, ten years.”
Hill, charged with one count of murder, is being held without bail, according to the Rhode Island Department of Correction.
An obituary for Sullivan could not be found online.
Warren is about 15 miles southeast of Providence.