COVID Patient Allegedly Beaten to Death With Oxygen Tank

The man's roommate was apparently upset the victim, 82, was praying
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 24, 2020 1:36 AM CST
COVID Patient Allegedly Beats Hospital Roomie to Death
Stock photo.   (Getty Images / Evgen_Prozhyrko)

An 82-year-old COVID patient was allegedly beaten to death by his roommate at a California hospital. Police say the suspect, Jesse Martinez, who was also being treated for COVID, became upset when his roommate, who was Catholic, started to pray in their shared room at Lancaster's Antelope Valley Hospital. Martinez, 37, allegedly used an oxygen tank to bludgeon his roommate last Thursday morning, KATV reports. The elderly man died from his injuries the next morning and Martinez has been charged with murder, with enhancements for elder abuse and religion-motivated hate crime, the Los Angeles Times reports. (More coronavirus stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X