In Brooklyn, 95-year-old Halyna Smirnova, a dementia patient, has become a suspect in the fatal beating of 89-year-old Ukrainian Nina Kravtsova. The horrific incident occurred in a nursing home. Smirnova is currently in custody at Bellevue Hospital, UNN reports, citing NyPost.
Details
On Wednesday, September 17, the 95-year-old dementia patient was officially charged with beating to death an elderly Ukrainian Holocaust survivor at the Seagate nursing home on Coney Island in Brooklyn, the publication writes.
Prosecutors revealed new shocking details of the crime. Halyna Smirnova, who uses a wheelchair, is accused of murder and using a weapon. She is currently being held in the prison ward of Bellevue Hospital.
According to the investigation, on Sunday evening, Smirnova killed 89-year-old Nina Kravtsova by delivering a fatal blow with a wheelchair pedal.
"A nurse saw the victim lying on the bed with severe head injuries. There was blood all over the room. There is a separate bathroom in this room, and at this time, the defendant was observed to be in the bathroom," Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Ari Rottenberg said in court.
"There was blood on the defendant's shirt and legs. The defendant was washing her hands in the bathroom. There was a wheelchair in the room with the foot pedals and footrests removed. One of the pedals was on the floor in the room and was covered in blood. The other pedal had been thrown out the window and was on the floor," he said.
The prosecutor said Smirnova had only arrived at the nursing home on Friday and was placed in the same room where Kravtsova was already staying.
A facility nurse reported that Kravtsova was sleeping in bed during rounds at 8:55 PM on Sunday. However, when the employee returned an hour later, she found the woman motionless, with a bloody cut on her head, and the room covered in blood.
Kravtsova was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn. She was pronounced dead after 5:30 AM on Monday, prosecutors noted.
Court proceedings
Smirnova's lawyer, Erin Darcy of the Legal Aid Society, did not request bail for her client until the next court hearing on Friday. This means the accused will be held at Bellevue Hospital until the hearing.
"I believe we will be able to file a compelling bail application on behalf of our client in the near future, as soon as we can find a reasonable place for her to reside, given her age and, ultimately, our interest in the humanity of this process," Darcy told Judge Orville Reynolds.
Prosecutors requested that Smirnova be held without bail. At the same time, the judge rejected the motion for a psychiatric examination, calling it premature.
Kravtsova's daughter, Lucy Flom, told The Post this week that her mother was 5 years old when she lost her family during the Holocaust, and later became a nurse in Ukraine before immigrating to the United States. She lived in Brighton Beach with her husband and eventually moved to a nursing home after his death, Flom said.
"She sacrificed a lot. She was a single mother. She gave birth to me when she was 18. She came here to give me a good education. She was a very devoted mother," the daughter said.