77-Year-Old Man With Dementia Allegedly Beats Wife To Death But Doesn't Remember What Happened

A 77-year-old New York man with dementia might have killed his wife at their home this week, but he seemingly has no memory of the incident, according to authorities.

Police were conducting a wellness check at Gisele Dangervil's home on 148th Road in Queens around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday when they found the 70-year-old unconscious and unresponsive with trauma to the head and body.

Dangervil was pronounced dead at the scene, PIX 11 reported, citing cops.

Blood was spotted on a cane belonging to Dangervil's husband, family members told police.

Authorities have deemed Dangervil's death a homicide, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Investigators believe the elderly woman's husband, whose name was not immediately released, beat her, possibly with his cane, the New York Post reported, citing police and police sources.

Dangervil's husband has dementia, and he appeared to have no memory of what happened, according to police sources. Dangervil reportedly had the condition as well.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines dementia as "the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with doing everyday activities."

Dangervil's husband was described by cops as a "person of interest" and was taken into custody at the couple's home.

He was treated at an unnamed hospital as of Thursday morning.

No charges have been filed.

Dangervil battled with dementia for the last four years and had a caretaker who would cook and clean for her and her husband, the New York Daily News reported.

Dangervil's husband would care for her when the caretaker was not present, a source was cited as saying by the outlet.

In a similar story, an 88-year-old man in Japan admitted to killing his 16-year-old granddaughter two years ago. But he claimed he could not remember the incident due to his mental disorder.

Susumu Tomizawa repeatedly stabbed his granddaughter Tomomi in the neck with a kitchen knife in his home in Fukui on the night of Sept. 9, 2020.

Tomizawa, who has Alzheimer's disease, later admitted to killing Tomomi. But he insisted he was unable to remember carrying out the act.

Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia, is a mental disorder that "slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks," according to the National Institute on Aging.

Fukui District Court sentenced Tomizawa to four years and six months in prison over his granddaughter's death on May 31.

The sentence was reduced because of Tomizawa's illness.