Nursing home resident charged with murder

JOLIET, Ill. (WLS) - An Illinois nursing home resident is in custody and charged with first-degree murder after police say he violently attacked a fellow resident.

Police say 71-year-old William Paschall punched the resident in the head and hit him with his own walker all because of the victim’s use of a washing machine at Salem Village Nursing Home in Joliet, Ill., on Friday.

“The nursing home called. They had called my mom and said he had gotten into an altercation and that he fell and hit his head,” said the victim’s niece, Kayla Martinez.

What the nursing home failed to tell the victim’s sister was that the man was allegedly violently attacked with his own walker. The family found that out after seeing news reports.

“We were hit with his death, and we were hit with how he died. It hurts. It’s a very senseless act,” Martinez said.

She says that the details have just exacerbated their grief and opened up even more questions about what happened.

“I want to know why. Why wasn’t the fight stopped?” Martinez said.

She says the nursing home told her family that a male supervisor at the nursing home could not break up the fight because they were “two really big guys.”

According to Joliet Police, the victim died on the scene, despite life-saving efforts by both staff and paramedics.

Paschall was taken into custody immediately and charged.

“My uncle was the kindest person you could meet. He would give you the shirt off his back, even if he didn’t have one,” Martinez said.

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