Inset: Richard Lombardi (WBTS/YouTube). Background: The house where Lombardi allegedly killed his roommate (Google Maps).
A Massachusetts man is behind bars after killing his octogenarian roommate over a dispute about preparing their Thanksgiving meal, authorities in the Bay State allege.
Richard Lombardi, 65, stands accused of one count each of assault and battery on a person over the age of 60 — causing serious injury and involuntary manslaughter, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.
The defendant is alleged to have killed Frank Griswold, 80, because he was standing too close to the food being cooked, police say.
Lombardi appeared in court on Friday and pleaded not guilty.
The incident occurred on Wednesday at the home the two men had long shared on Main Street in Marshfield — a medium-sized town located some 30 miles south-southeast of Boston.
While preparing dishes for the meal celebrating the national day of thanks, the defendant allegedly tried to forcibly move his roommate and friend away from an area where the food was being made.
“Grabbed his back and threw Mr. Griswold to the right, tossing him to the side,” prosecutor Joseph Presley told the judge overseeing the case, according to a courtroom report by Nashua, New Hampshire-based NBC affiliate WBTS — which serves as the Boston local for the network. “The defendant did surmise that Mr. Griswold’s feet got tangled up and that he fell and hit his head on the floor.”
Richard Lombardi during his arraignment (WBTS/YouTube).
Lombardi himself called 911 after he realized Griswold could not get off the floor — as he was bleeding and unconscious.
In an interview with police, the defendant allegedly said the victim “often sneezes” and that he did not want Griswold to “sneeze or contaminate the food” which was near the sink, according to court records obtained by Boston-based ABC affiliate WCVB.
Lombardi told police that earlier in the day, before the fatal shove, he “got in an argument with Frank Griswold and that he did not want him in the kitchen touching the food,” according to the court document.
Then, later on, the defendant allegedly returned to find Griswold washing dishes — apparently far too close to the food for comfort.
Court documents suggest the deceased man might have been hit in the face somehow — describing cuts on that part of his body.
“He was seen laying face-up on the floor in the kitchen in a pool of blood,” Presley told the court, according to WCVB.
First responders took Griswold to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, where he was eventually pronounced dead. The cause of death cited was blunt force injury to the neck and head.
The two men had been friends since the 1990s after meeting in the financial services industry, WBTS reported. They moved in together in 2001 and lived in the Main Street house since 2008.
The defendant appears shocked by the turn of events that resulted in the loss of his freedom and longtime friend.
“He’s resigned,” defense attorney Marshall Johnson told WBTS on Friday. “He’s shocked because no one had told him that his friend had passed away until I told him this morning. So naturally that’s had quite a devastating effect on him mentally.”
Lombardi is being detained in the Plymouth County Jail without bail. He is next slated to appear in court on Dec. 4.
