COLUMBIA, Md. -- Senior-on-senior violence is suspected in Howard County's first homicide case of 2009.
Earl Lafayette Wilder, 87, was sitting outside an assisted-living facility when he began beating a fellow resident without provocation the afternoon of Aug. 17, police said.
Harmony Hall Retirement Community staff intervened to end the attack on 91-year-old James W. Brown and called police.
Brown was flown to Laurel Regional Hospital with head trauma. He died in hospice care Saturday.
"This is a sad, tragic and unprovoked event," read a statement from Lorien Health Systems, which owns Harmony Hall. "Ownership and management did everything they could when Mr. Wilder attacked Mr. Brown, including intervening quickly."
The attack lasted only a few blows, but one may have caused an epidural hematoma.
Wilder and Brown apparently did not know each other. Wilder suffered an apparent mental breakdown, sources told News4.
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"Sadly, there were no indicators of any sort of problem prior to the incident," according to Lorien Health Systems. "There was no history to indicate Mr Wilder had any signs of aggression. The two men had no prior association, good or bad."
After the attack, Wilder was taken to Howard County General Hospital to be evaluated.
Wilder is a World War II vet who fought in the Battle of the Rhine. He exhibited no signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, sources said.
Authorities charged Wilder Monday with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault.
Howard County had four homicides in 2008, the last in October.
