William Leo McDougall apparently became angry at Van Nguyen for singing in Vietnamese. They were both recovering from hip surgery and shared a room at Palm Terrace Healthcare Center in Laguna Woods:
McDougall faces one felony count of murder. If convicted, he could be looking at up to 25 years to life in prison. More here: 81-year-old O.C. man charged with killing 94-year-old roommate at healthcare center.
Prosecutors say McDougall became angry at Nguyen for singing in Vietnamese. They claim he took a metal rod from a closet in their room and struck Nguyen multiple times in the head.
A nurse walking toward the room witnessed the attack, prosecutors said, and McDougall was restrained by staffers.
Nguyen was taken to the hospital, where he died from blunt-force trauma to the head.
Staffers at the health care center told authorities that there hadn't been any previous incidents between the two men, both of whom were Laguna Woods residents.
McDougall is in custody at Orange County Jail on a $1 million bail.
Damn, old man. If you wanted the guy to stop singing, just tell him to shut up! You don't even have to be polite. No need to bash his head in with a freaking metal rod. I don't care if you're 18 or 80 years old. That's murder.