ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WWJ) -- An elderly Rochester Hills man is recovering after being severely attacked by a neighbor who broke into his house in what is believed to be an attempted murder-suicide.
Lt. Steve Jacobs with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department tells WWJ a 90-year-old was asleep in his condo -- near Walton Boulevard and Old Perch Road -- around 2 a.m. Monday when the suspect smashed his way inside through a basement window.
The suspect, identified as a 44-year-old Rochester Hills resident, reportedly confronted the elderly man in the hallway and used scissors, a chair and a lamp to attack the victim. The victim, who remained hospitalized Tuesday evening, told police he pretended to be dead to make the attack stop.
The 90-year-old, who was hospitalized with severe injuries, including multiple cuts and a broke orbital bone, told police the suspect had told him "I want to see someone die before I kill myself."
When deputies arrived to the scene hours after the attack, they found the suspect had collapsed and died, apparently from a cut to an artery in his leg, caused by the broken window.
Further inside the condo, authorities found the victim calling for help.
"He was on the ground. He wasn't able to get around because of his injuries, but he was pounding on the floor, trying to bring attention to him. As soon as officers walked in and started calling out, he started calling for help," Jacobs told WWJ.
The suspect had been reported missing by his roommate on Monday afternoon, according to a report from the Detroit News. That's when police showed up to the apartment and discovered the bloody scene.
Names of the suspect and victim have not been released.
