Orange deputies: Man fatally injured Azalea Park roommate
Orange County deputies are still investigating a fight that led to a man fatally injuring his roommate in Azalea Park in August.
Erik Greenwald, 46, was wounded Aug. 21 and died Sept. 4. The medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide. No arrests have been made. “The individuals involved in this incident appear to have been mutual combatants,” sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Williamson said. “Detectives are completing the investigation and will forward it to the [State Attorney’s Office] when it’s completed.”
When deputies got to the Coleus Drive home at 11:40 p.m., Greenwald’s roommate, 26-year-old John Stanford, told them he was too shaken to talk about what happened in detail, records show.
Stanford then told deputies he was asleep in his bedroom when Greenwald came in with a broom, records show.
Stanford claimed that Greenwald started poking his head, face and neck with the bristled part of the broom. Stanford told deputies he woke up and asked Greenwald what he was doing. Then Stanford grabbed a wooden bedpost and swung it at Greenwald’s head, deputies said.
Stanford hit Greenwald again, and Greenwald fell to the floor. Stanford hit him one or two more times.
Deputies did not say what started the fight. The two had been living together for about a month, and Stanford was dating Greenwald’s sister. They argued earlier in the night, and Stanford said Greenwald may have been drinking.