Prosecutors: 83-year-old man beat roommate to death with walker

HAVERHILL, Mass. — An 83-year-old man accused of beating a 76-year-old man to death at a local nursing home has been ordered held without bail.

Just after 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Haverhill Police found Robert Boucher, 76, suffering from injuries as a result of a physical assault at The Oxford Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, a residential nursing facility in Haverhill.

Boucher was brought to Holy Family Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Jose Veguilla, 83, was subsequently arrested and also transported to Holy Family Hospital to be evaluated. He was arraigned Monday at Haverhill District Court where a judge ordered him sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for a competency evaluation.

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In court, prosecutors said the two men were roommates. They said a nurse walked in during the attacked at witnessed it. Veguilla allegedly used a walker to beat the 76-year-old to death and swung the walker at the nurse as she ran out. When police arrived, they say Veguilla was still swinging the walker, which was covered in blood.

Some residents believe Veguilla, a Vietnam vet, may not have been in the right mind when he assaulted his roommate, saying he might have been having war flashbacks.

"Someone said that he was having Vietnam flashbacks," said one resident.

A doctor who took the stand Monday said Veguilla suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall in 2018 and has been to several nursing homes since. The doctor said he has been diagnosed with dementia and when interviewed by the doctor, Veguilla didn't know the day or the month.

"My dad was a fun-loving man, and about a year ago he suffered a traumatic brain injury. He spent weeks at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston," said his son Henry Veguilla.

He says his father has dementia and wasn't taking his medication, something he believes is the nurse's fault at Oxford Manor who looked after him.

"How does an 83-year-old man have the time to do what he’s being accused of doing and no one is stepping in to intervene? We know he was having issues with medications and not taking them the way he should have, and we think it’s the place where he was responsibility to make sure he’s taking his medication," said Henry.

He says his family is still in shock, "We’re still in a state of shock. I feel absolutely horrible for the person who has died. And to their family, you know, even saying sorry is probably not going to be enough."

In a statement, Athena Health Care Systems, the owner of Oxford, said:

"The Oxford's heart goes out to the families of those involved in last night's incident. Our center is making additional support services available to our staff and residents. The Oxford Center and staff are working with the Haverhill and State Police Departments in their investigation. Based on our initial internal investigation, we believe our staff acted quickly and appropriately in the matter; we are unable to comment further or provide additional details."

"It’s just a disaster, tragic," said Erika Wallace, whose father lives at Oxford Manor. "The only question that I had was, like I said, how nobody heard it."

Wallace says she came to the nursing home on Sunday to check in on her father, who was friends with the 76-year-old victim.

"Good old gentleman, he was a nice guy, he didn’t deserve what happened to him," said Gifford Russell, a resident at the nursing home.

Family members whose loved ones live in the nursing home were not only fearful for their loved ones but also furious at management for not calling to alert them.

"They didn’t let us know, any of the family, nothing," said Amanda Williams, whose mother lives in the nursing home. "They didn’t even apparently let any of the residents know because I can guarantee my mother would have told me."

Veguilla is being held without bail. The next court date is Oct. 25.

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