81-Year Old Laguna Woods Man charged with murdering roommate

Posted by CotoBlogzz 04-10-2010

Laguna Woods Village, CA -  William Leo McDougall has been charged with murdering his 94-year-old roommate while the two were living in a rehabilitation center recovering from hip surgeries according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office,

McDougall, 81, Laguna Woods, is charged with one felony count of murder and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted. He is being held on $1 million bail and is expected to be arraigned tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010.

On Oct. 1, 2010, McDougall was recovering from a hip surgery at Palm Terrace Healthcare Center in Laguna Woods. The defendant is accused of becoming angry with his 94-year-old roommate, Manh Van Nguyen, who was singing in their room in Vietnamese while also recovering from a hip surgery. 

McDougall is accused of taking a metal rod from the closet in their room and hitting Nguyen multiple times in the head. A nurse, who had been approaching the room, witnessed the incident. The defendant was restrained by staff. 

The victim was taken to the hospital, where he died due to blunt force trauma to the head. 

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.