(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A 71-year-old resident of Joliet’s Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation has been charged with the murder of a fellow resident on Friday, according to the Joliet Police Department.
Authorities said officers responded to the nursing home shortly before 9:30 p.m. after a battery was reported in the building’s laundry room. That’s where the officers found an unresponsive 61-year-old man.
Based on a preliminary investigation, police accused William Paschall of attacking the victim after Paschall became angry over the man’s use of a washing machine.
Although a staff member tried to intervene in the attack, officials said they believe Paschall punched the man in the head multiple times and used the victim’s walker in the attack, which caused him to fall to the floor.
Staff members provided medical assistance to the man until Joliet Fire Department paramedics arrived, police said.
Despite attempts to save the man’s life, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office approved charges against Paschall of first degree murder and aggravated battery to a person 60 years of age or older.
Joliet police did not release the victim’s identity, nor did it share any details regarding the cause of death. Officials said both of those determinations would be made by the Will County Coroner’s Office.
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