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., 63, was charged with murder and strangulation following an incident on Tuesday at the Heritage Village of Waterville nursing home in Waterville, a suburb of Toledo. According to the Waterville Police Department, Gilmore was taken into custody after he was identified as the suspect in the strangulation death of another patient, 53-year-old Kimberly Moore.
Moore was reportedly found with a towel still around her neck as well as “severe bruising to her face and neck,” according to court records obtained by local CBS affiliate WTOL.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
In a statement provided to local news outlet The Blade, a representative from Heritage Village confirmed that Moore was found “unresponsive and deceased” by facility staff on Tuesday. No further details were provided due to “medical privacy concerns,” but the representative stated that “we are all very saddened by this event” and they are cooperating with the investigation.
The Blade wrote that Heritage Village is a 90-bed facility that specializes in long-term treatment of behavioral health and memory conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer”s disease.
WTOL spoke with Waterville Mayor Tim Pedro, who said that Gilmore had a history of psychiatric issues. Pedro called Moore’s homicide an “isolated incident” that occurred following an altercation between the two patients.
Gilmore appeared in court on Wednesday and was ordered to remain in custody at the Lucas County Corrections Center on $1 million for the murder charge and an additional $500,000 for the strangulation charge. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.
