A 65-year-old Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that he killed his 80-year-old roommate during an argument over Thanksgiving meal preparations.
The Plymouth District Attorney’s Office said that Richard Lombardi is charged with assault and battery on an elderly person in the death of Frank Griswold in the home they shared, WBTS reported.
Police said Lombardi shoved Griswold to the floor on Wednesday because he wouldn’t stay away from the food being prepared.
“(Lombardi) grabbed his back and threw Mr. Griswold to the right tossing him to the side. The defendant did surmise that Mr Griswold’s feet got tangled up and that he fell and hit his head on the floor,” Plymouth County prosecutor Joseph Presley said in court on Friday.
Lombardi called 911, and first responders found Griswold bleeding from the head on the kitchen floor.
Prosecutors said that Griswold died from blunt force trauma to the neck and head.
Court documents said that Griswold and Lombardi had known one another since they worked together in the 1990s and had lived together since 2001.
Lombardi’s attorney, Marshall Johnson, said he believes the death was an accident.
“He’s resigned. 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,” said Johnson.
Lombardi was ordered held until a dangerousness hearing next week.
