A 71-year-old Joliet nursing home resident was charged Sunday with first-degree murder after he allegedly beat a fellow resident to death during an argument about a washing machine.
Joliet officers responded to Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation Friday at 9:25 p.m. where they found an unresponsive 61-year-old man in the laundry room on the sixth floor of the building. The Will County coroner’s office pronounced the man dead at the scene, police said.
William Paschall was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a person 60 years of age or older.
During a preliminary investigation, Joliet police alleged Paschall attacked the victim in the laundry room after he got angry about his use of the washing machine. Paschall allegedly punched the man in the head multiple times and used the victim’s walker in the attack, causing him to fall to the floor.
The facility’s staff attempted to intervene, police said, and provided medical assistance to the victim. They also called 911, police said.
The Will County coroner’s office had not yet released the name of the victim.
Paschall was being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility, police said.