Man, 70, arrested in stool killing

73-year-old died 9 days after assisted living facility attack

A 73-year-old man with advanced dementia and Parkinson’s disease shuffled up to a 70-year-old fellow resident at an assisted living facility and hit him with a small wooden stool. That resident then got hold of the stool, and began repeatedly striking the older man until his skull was fractured and he lost consciousness, detectives said.

Steven Ira Wolff admitted he “whacked” Peter Seisser in the head April 7 because Seisser hit him first during an argument, according to the arrest report.

S t a f f ers found Seisser lying unconscious outside on the ground. They were able to revive him using CPR, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.

But Seisser died nine days later at St. Mary’s Medical Center. Blunt force trauma to the head was the cause of death, according to the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Both men lived at the Cambridge 23 LLC Assisted Living facility, at 4373 Venus Ave., located southeast of Southern Boulevard and S. Military Trail, near West Palm Beach.

During questioning on Monday, Wolff told detectives he believed he had killed Seisser, adding that “he deserved it,” detectives wrote in the arrest report.

Wolff said he was watching TV when he was hit without provocation, so he took the stool from Seisser and hit him with it nine times while following Seisser outside, the report stated.

Wolff said he knew Seisser had dementia and was “barely shuffling” when he walked.

Wolff’s injuries were a minor bump on his head and a scrape on his left arm, investigators said.

He was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder. Wolff is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bond, records show.

Cambridge 23 LLC Assisting Living spokeswoman Nicole Walker declined to comment, citing patient privacy rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA].

Wolff