Manslaughter charge in B’klyn hospital bash
A woman who cops say fatally struck an elderly Brooklyn hospital patient for getting too close to her has been charged with manslaughter in the city’s first coronavirus-related homicide.
Cassandra Lundy, 32, who has a history of arrests for drugs and violence, lost her cool when 86-year-old Janie Marshall got too close to her in a hallway of Bedford-Stuyvesant’s Woodhull Hospital on Saturday, cops said.
Marshall, who family members said suffered from dementia, went to the hospital for a bowel obstruction, while Lundy was being treated for seizures.
The younger woman groused that Marshall wasn’t following social distancing guidelines, then allegedly hit her in the head and knocked her to the ground, sources said.
Hospital police issued Lundy a disorderly conduct summons after the attack and released her.
Less than four hours later, Marshall (inset) died at the hospital. After an autopsy, the city Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.
On Thursday NYPD cops arrested Lundy for manslaughter and assault.
“I’m just thrilled that she was arrested and that my aunt will get justice,” said Marshall’s niece, Eleanor Leonard.
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around a person having such insensitivity to the elder people in our world. I just have to ask myself, how was she raised, not to respect her elders, not to care about the elderly people.”
“When the courts re-open I’m going to be sitting right there so I can face her, see her face-to-face,” she added.
Lundy’s husband, who didn’t give his first name, said he hadn’t heard about Marshall’s death, or the allegations against Lundy, even after detectives came to arrest her Thursday. The two live in an assisted living facility. “She was in the hospital for seizures. She suffers from epilepsy,” he said. “She told me someone was messing with her. She didn’t say much about it. She was so upset. She was all shook up.”
When told about the alleged assault, he said, “Oh my God, she would not do that. She is not that kind of person.” He added, “I’m just disgusted by the whole situation. It’s not fair and it’s not right.”
Lundy has 17 prior arrests, on charges including drug possession, trespass, assault and strangulation, sources said.
In June 2017 she was accused of punching a 54-year-old woman in the face on Chester St. in Brownsville.
And on June 15, 2016, she allegedly choked her 61-year-old boyfriend, police sources said. Lundy was angry that he wouldn’t let her invitefriends over so they could do drugs, said sources. She was charged with strangulation.
The disposition of both cases weren’t immediately clear. Lundy still has two pending drug possession cases, according to court records.