A man in the US state of Massachusetts has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, assault and battery after he allegedly killed a ‘sneezing’ elderly roommate for being too close to the Thanksgiving turkey dinner he was cooking last week. The man, identified as Richard Lombardi, 65, argued with his roommate, Frank Griswold, 80, telling him not to wash the dishes as he was concerned that the latter’s chronic sneezing would contaminate the turkey sitting nearby, according to court documents accessed by WCVB.
According to the official version given to the police by Mr Lombardi, he returned to the kitchen later, only to find Mr Griswold washing dishes near the turkey, not heeding his request. Overcome by anger, Mr Lombardi grabbed his roommate from behind and pushed him aside. As Mr Griswold’s feet allegedly got “tangled up,” he fell to the floor and hit his head.
Mr Lombardi said he called 911 after his roommate remained unresponsive and started bleeding from the head. Mr Griswold was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
“He did see the victim, Mr Griswold, near that food doing dishes, said that he went over and grabbed Mr Griswold from behind, grabbed his back and threw Mr Griswold to the right and tossed him to the side,” said prosecutor Joseph Presley.
“He was seen laying face-up on the floor in the kitchen in a pool of blood,” added Mr Presley.
‘Not guilty’
As the police conducted the investigation, Mr Lombardi was charged and arraigned in Plymouth District Court last week where he pleaded not guilty.
“It sounds like an accident based on what the evidence was that was revealed in court,” said Mr Lombardi’s public-appointed attorney, Marshall Johnson.
According to a report in the NY Post, both Mr Lombardi and Mr Griswold had been friends since the early 1990s, when they worked together at Charles River Management. They became roomies in 2001 and as per the landlord, did not have any arguments or altercations. Although Mr Lombardi was not Mr Griswold’s caretaker, he helped his roommate with dinner, bills and paperwork.
Mr Lombardi is currently being held without bail. He is next expected to be in court on Wednesday (Dec 4).