Background: News footage of Heritage Village in Waterville, Ohio (WTOL). Inset: Roscoe Gilmore Jr. (Lucas County Corrections Center).
An Ohio man living at a nursing home is now behind bars after police say he strangled a fellow patient to death with a towel.
Roscoe Gilmore Jr., aged 63, faces charges of murder and strangulation in relation to an event at the Heritage Village of Waterville nursing home, located near Toledo. As reported by the Waterville Police Department, Gilmore was arrested as the suspect in the death by strangulation of Kimberly Moore, a 53-year-old fellow patient.
According to court documents shared by local CBS affiliate WTOL, Moore was discovered with a towel wrapped around her neck and exhibited “severe bruising on her face and neck.”
The Blade received a statement from a Heritage Village representative, confirming that Moore was found “unresponsive and deceased” by staff members on Tuesday. They did not supply additional information due to “medical privacy concerns,” but expressed their deep sadness over the incident and pledged full cooperation with the authorities.
The Blade reported that Heritage Village is a 90-bed facility dedicated to long-term care for patients with behavioral health issues and conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
In discussions with WTOL, Waterville Mayor Tim Pedro disclosed that Gilmore had a history of psychiatric problems. Pedro described Moore’s murder as an “isolated incident” that resulted from a conflict between the two patients.
Gilmore was present in court on Wednesday, where he was ordered to remain held at the Lucas County Corrections Center with a bail of $1 million for the murder charge and an additional $500,000 for the strangulation offense. His preliminary hearing is slated for October 2.
