(NewsNation) — A 95-year-old nursing home resident is accused of beating her 89-year-old roommate to death at Seagate Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday evening.
Galina Smirnova, 95, was arraigned and charged with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon Wednesday after her roommate, Nina Kravtsov, 89, was found unresponsive and bloodied with gash marks on her face and head, according to prosecutors, as reported by local NewsNation affiliate WPIX in New York City.
Kravtsov was pronounced dead at a hospital early Monday morning after suffering facial, head and skull fractures, according to authorities.
Lawyer for victim’s family says accused attacker suffers from dementia
Randy Zelin, the lawyer representing the family of the victim, told NewsNation’s “Banfield” that Smirnova suffers from dementia and that patients are “prone to fits of uncontrolled rage and violence.”
Zelin also mentioned that Smirnova was new to the nursing home, having been there for only 48 hours. He added that, to his understanding, she was paired with the victim because they both spoke Russian. The victim had lived at the facility for five years after suffering a stroke.
“You can never leave a dementia patient unsupervised, unattended, particularly a brand-new one, when you know nothing about the woman. You certainly don’t leave her with an 89-year-old woman,” he said.
Zelin explained that Smirnova’s lawyers will likely cite her diagnosis as part of their defense strategy.
Victim was Holocaust survivor
The family of the victim said she was born in Ukraine and was a Holocaust survivor, according to ABC News.
WPIX sources said the two women got into a fight before Smirnova allegedly hit the victim over the head with the metal leg rest of a wheelchair.
Smirnova was found washing blood off her hands when her roommate was discovered dead, according to prosecutors.
Smirnova is being held at Elmhurst Hospital Prison Ward without bail after her lawyer refused a mental health exam, according to a spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.