Man charged with murder accused of punching victim, using his walker in nursing home laundry room attack

(As originally published, Mon, November 20th 2023, 7:20 PM EST)

JOLIET, Ill. (TND) — A 71-year-old man who lives in a nursing home is accused of murdering another resident there in a fight over a washing machine.

Police outside Chicago said they found “an unresponsive 61-year-old” man in the sixth-floor laundry room at Salem Village Nursing and Rehabilitation on Friday night.

They said their preliminary investigation found William Paschall attacked the victim

“after becoming angry about the victim’s use of the washing machine. A staff member attempted to intervene.

“It is believed that Paschall punched the victim in the head multiple times and used the victim’s walker in the attack, causing the victim to fall to the floor.”

The victim could not be saved. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Paschall — who the Will County Jail described as six feet tall and weighing 205 pounds — is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a person 60 years of age or older.