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81-year-old Calif. man indicted on suspicion of murder

Man says he hit his 94-year-old roommate because he was angered by the other man’s singing

Orange County Register

SANTA ANA, Calif. — Authorities say he beat roommate, 94, with a rod at rehab clinic because he was angry over man’s singing.

An 81-year-old man has been indicted on suspicion of murder, accused of hitting his rehabilitation center roommate, 94, several times in the head with a rod after becoming angered by the other man’s singing.

The Orange County grand jury also accused William Leo McDougall of Laguna Woods in the indictment returned Monday with a penalty-enhancing allegation that he used a weapon - the metal bar - during the commission of the crime.

McDougall, who uses a wheelchair and is in poor health, faces 26 years to life if convicted.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in Orange County Superior Court on Tuesday. McDougall remains in custody in the Orange County Jail on $1 million bail.
McDougall pleaded not guilty to the murder charge during a court appearance in October before he was indicted.

He was arrested after an incident Oct. 1 when he became angry at Manh Van Nguyen, his roommate at Palm Terrace Healthcare Center in Laguna Woods, for singing in Vietnamese. Both men were recovering from hip surgery.

Authorities say McDougall took a metal rod from a closet in their room and struck Nguyen several times in the head. A nurse walking toward the room witnessed the attack, prosecutors said, and McDougall was restrained by staffers.

Nguyen, also of Laguna Woods, was taken to a hospital, where he died from blunt-force trauma to the head.

Officials at the health care center said there hadn’t been any previous incidents between the two men.

“This case is a tragedy for both sides,” said Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh, who presented the evidence that led to the indictment. “It certainly is tragic for the victim and his family,” Baytieh said Wednesday, “and it is also a tragedy for Mr. McDougall, who absolutely has no prior record, and his family.”

Baytieh said one of the reasons he sought an indictment, which means no preliminary hearing is required, was because of McDougall’s health. He said the defendant undergoes kidney dialysis three times a week and has missed several court appearances because of it.

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