Mass. woman, 98, accused of killing roommate, 100

[Elmore Furth]

Sometimes these vigilante movements can get out of hand.

NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (AP) — A 98-year-old woman (Laura Lundquist) was indicted Friday on a second-degree murder charge that alleges she strangled her 100-year-old nursing home roommate after making the victim's life "a living hell" because she thought the woman was "taking over the room."

She is believed to be the oldest murder defendant in state history, but might never go to trial because of her mental health issues.

Her roommate at the Brandon Woods nursing home in Dartmouth, Elizabeth Barrow, was found dead in her bed Sept. 24 with a plastic bag tied around her head. Police initially speculated it was a suicide, but a medical examiner ruled it a homicide after an autopsy indicated strangulation.

Sutter said Barrow complained in the weeks prior to her death that Lundquist was making her life "a living hell." The night before Barrow was killed, Lundquist put a table at the foot of her bed to block her way to the bathroom, then punched a nurses aide who removed it, he said.

Mass. woman, 98, accused of killing roommate, 100

[Tobin S.]

1. I hope I'm in good shape right up until the end

No nursing home for me. I'm not afraid of getting killed in one. I've been to them before and they are just depressing.