PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Florida man is accused of attempting to kill his 86-year-old mother by placing a pillow over her face, authorities said.
Christopher Jerome Asmar, 54, of Pensacola, was arrested Thursday and charged with two counts of aggravated battery on a person 65 years of age or older and two counts of attempted homicide, according to Escambia County Sheriff’s Office online booking records.
A caregiver who works in the home told police she had recently noticed “unexplained bruises” on the victim, who is suffering from dementia, WKRG-TV reported. The caregiver said the bruises would appear in the morning after the caregivers left, according to the television station.
According to an arrest affidavit, the caregiver left the home at about 7:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday and parked her vehicle down the street where she could not be seen, WEAR-TV reported. The woman then walked back to the home and into the backyard, and said she could hear Asmar yelling obscenities at her mother, according to the television station.
According to the report, the caregiver then looked through the window and saw Asmar allegedly strike his mother with a pillow as she was lying on the couch, WEAR reported. Asmar then allegedly placed the pillow over his mother’s face and put his entire weight on it.
The caregiver then called police, WKRG reported.
The arrest affidavit stated that police entered the home and found the victim lying on the couch and Asmar in his bedroom, according to the television station.
According to the affidavit, the victim was “visibly overwhelmed and disoriented,” and “extremely dazed and confused.”
On Tuesday, the caregiver set up a video camera in the living room of the home to be sure the victim was not falling off the couch where she slept, WKRG reported.
Officers who later viewed the video footage said they could see Asmar striking his mother multiple times. In a second video, Asmar could be heard saying, “You wake up too much longer, I’ll suffocate you myself,” the television station reported.
“No one likes to consider the fact that family members could be abusing the elders in their life,” Josh Newby, a spokesperson with the Council on Aging of West Florida, told WALA-TV. “But 1 in 10 seniors will experience financial, physical, or sexual abuse in their lives. It’s a heartbreaking statistic.
“They knew what to look for. They knew the next steps to take,” Newby added. “I wouldn’t have done anything differently. The caregivers very realistically saved this woman’s life and I give them all the praise.”
Asmar is set to appear in Escambia County court on Friday for his first appearance, WEAR reported.