COVID patient beats 82-year-old in next bed to death with oxygen tank, L.A. cops say
.jpg "A California man with COVID-19 beat a fellow patient to death with an oxygen tank.")
A California man hospitalized with COVID-19 is accused of beating a fellow coronavirus patient to death with an oxygen tank, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Jesse Martinez, 37, was being treated at the Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, police say, and was housed in a two person room with an 82-year-old roommate.
On Dec. 17, Martinez became “upset” with the older man when he began to pray, the sheriff’s department says, and hit him with an oxygen tank.
The victim was pronounced dead from his injuries the next day. Authorities say the two men did not know each other.
Martinez has been charged with murder, a hate crime enhancement and elder abuse, and his bail is set at $1 million, the the sheriff’s department says.
Police said the investigation is still ongoing, and anyone with information is encouraged to call the department’s homicide bureau at 323-890-5500.