Homicide squad investigating beating death of Hamilton nursing home resident
Posted April 28, 2017 5:54 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Hamilton police homicide squad is now investigating the vicious beating death of a nursing home resident.
James Acker 85, was asleep in his private room in St. Joseph’s Villa when another resident entered on Jan. 28.
“He went into my father’s room and just starting beating him. The nurse said he was pounding and pounding and pounding on his face,” Acker’s daughter Tammy Carbino told CityNews, recounting what she was told by staff at the home.
A personal support worker (PSW) followed the resident into Acker’s room, but was unable to stop the assault. Acker died in hospital on April 16. The coroner ruled that his death was a homicide.
Hamilton police said a fellow resident was arrested under the Mental Health Act, and remains in a secure psychiatric facility. The 83-year-old man has been in custody since Jan. 28. After Acker’s death, police said they were now dealing with a murder investigation.
No charges have been laid against the 83-year-old man, and his name has not been released.
Police said both Acker and the accused lived in a section of the nursing home that caters to people with advanced mental illness, Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Police said the family of the accused, Acker’s family, and St. Joseph’s Villa are all cooperating with the investigation.
Related stories:
Elderly man beaten in Hamilton nursing home has died: family
Family wants provincial review after vicious nursing home attack
