Woman, 98, indicted on murder charges

It was the night before a nurse found the roommate, Elizabeth Barrow, dead with a plastic shopping bag tied around her head. The two had been arguing about a table that Lundquist moved to the foot of Barrow’s bed, which impeded Barrow’s path to the bathroom.

When a nurse’s aide moved the table, Lundquist punched her and said Barrow “might as well have the whole room,’’ prosecutors alleged.

Lundquist had also vowed she would get Barrow’s window-side bed because, “she was going to outlive her,’’ prosecutors and defense lawyers said.

On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Lundquist on charges of second-degree murder in allegedly strangling and suffocating Barrow in their room on Sept. 24, making her perhaps the oldest murder defendant in state history, prosecutors said yesterday.

Lundquist was sent to Taunton State Hospital yesterday for a competency evaluation prior to being arraigned.

“I am acutely aware of the difficulties of bringing a homicide case such as this,’’ Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter said during a press conference at his office yesterday. “But in light of the evidence that this homicide was committed by Ms. Lundquist . . . I have a sworn duty that when presented with evidence that supports a particular person has committed a murder - whether it be a 98-year-old woman or an 8-year-old boy as was prosecuted this year in St. John, Ariz. - that my office must move forward with charges.’’

Sutter said his office could not find a case involving an older murder suspect, but he said that elderly violence will probably be a growing issue as people live longer.

“It is a statewide and nationwide problem, and it is one that in all likelihood is going to get worse,’’ Sutter said, adding that his office has reviewed murder charges against some 20 people older than age 80 and a half-dozen cases of suspects over 90.

Asked why he sought second-degree murder charges, Sutter said: “It would have been extremely difficult for her to form the necessary intent for first-degree murder.’’

As for whether she will be tried, the DA said they are awaiting the competency evaluation.

If she is found competent, “we’re going to be faced with a series of decisions,’’ he said. “I don’t think this case will wind up going to trial, but it’s premature to say.’’

Carl S. Levin, Lundquist’s lawyer, said in a telephone interview that he and prosecutors agreed to file a joint motion in Bristol Superior Court yesterday to request a psychiatric evaluation of Lundquist. The two-page document says Lundquist “has a long standing diagnosis of dementia and exhibited other erratic behaviors. The records further revealed that the defendant herself had previously expressed concerns that another roommate would strangle her in her bed.’’

The evaluation could last up to 20 days, and a court date has been set for Jan. 5.

“It is my expectation that she will be found not competent,’’ Levin said from his office in Providence. “It’s a very sad event.’’

The victim’s son, Scott Barrow, said in a telephone interview that he thinks it would be absurd for prosecutors to try Lundquist.

“I don’t see how you can prosecute a 98-year-old woman,’’ Scott Barrow said. “It’s like prosecuting a 2-year-old. But it’s not for me to decide.’’

He added: “I don’t feel vengeful at all. I feel pity for her.’’

The joint motion details the relationship between the two elderly women and describes how just a short distance from a nurses’ station, Lundquist was allegedly able to strangle Barrow. A nursing assistant found her body at 6:20 a.m. with a bed sheet pulled over her head, about 20 minutes after staff had seen Barrow returning to her bed from the bathroom.

Lundquist told police that she was in the bathroom when Barrow died and that she heard Barrow scream. But she said she did not do anything because she was afraid she would get in trouble. Lundquist also said Barrow had “hurt her’’ and described her as a “sick woman,’’ according to the joint motion.

When a nursing aide sought to move Lundquist from the room, she denied killing Barrow. “At that time, no one had accused her of anything, nor were they aware that anyone had caused her death,’’ according to the joint motion.

Afterward, when she was placed in a different room, Lundquist observed a white plastic bag similar to the one found over Barrow’s head, and told her new roommate, “I hope I don’t have to use that.’’

In the weeks prior to her death, Barrow had said that Lundquist was making her life “a living hell,’’ prosecutors said.

Investigators initially thought Barrow had committed suicide, but the results of an autopsy found she had been the victim of “asphyxia due to strangulation and suffocation.’’

Nursing home officials have said the two women lived together for little more than a year.

Scott Picone, who manages Brandon Woods, said staff never received reports that Barrow felt threatened, but he said the tension in the 420-square-foot room - their beds were separated by 4 feet - prompted the staff to offer the women new rooms on July 29 and Aug. 5.

Scott Barrow said he still does not know what could have motivated Lundquist. “She seemed to be perfectly normal,’’ he said. “She seemed lucid.’’

If Lundquist is tried and convicted, Scott Barrow said he would rather that she was not incarcerated.

“It doesn’t make any sense for her to do prison time,’’ he said. “She’s just a poor old lady who snapped.’’

Barrow has described his mother as healthy, amiable, and vigorous, a proud 5-foot-2 grandmother of three who was strong enough to walk on her own and read two books a week.

Barrow said that as much as he misses his mother, he does not seek vengeance. “I feel very sorry her,’’ he said of Lundquist.

Andrew Ryan, John R. Ellement, Martin Finucane, and Patricia Wen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com.