Police are trying to figure out why a 43-year-old man beat a 70-year-old man to death at the assisted-living center where both men lived.
Police received a 911 emergency call about 11:45 p.m. Wednesday about an assault on the grounds of the Walden House Assisted Living Center.
The caller told the dispatcher: "I need an ambulance down here at the Walden House right away. One of the residents here beat another one in the head. I need one right now, ASAP."
When police arrived, they found Roland Claude Simmons unconscious on a bench behind the home. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police, he had been beaten with a blunt object such as a hammer or club.
Witnesses told investigators who attacked Simmons.
Within minutes, police found Dennis Edward Scherzer walking near the home and arrested him.
Scherzer was charged with murder. He is being held in the Catawba County jail with no bond allowed.
Police are trying to determine a motive for the attack.
Capt. Thurman Whisnant of the Hickory Police said that there was no known animosity between the men, and that the preliminary investigation suggests the attack was spontaneous.
"We may never know why this happened," he said.
Melissa Silverman-Connolly, the regional director of Walden House's parent company, DePaul Adult Care Communities, declined to answer any questions about what may have sparked the attack, saying that doing so would be a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
She said that her company is cooperating with the investigation and referred questions to law enforcement.
"Resident safety is our primary concern," Silverman-Connolly said
Other residents are struggling with the thought that a killing happened outside their door.
Steve Triplett has made up his mind about what he's going to do.
"I'll be moving on," he said.
He plans to live in Lenoir.
Mary Saunders said that Simmons was a nice person who never had any problems with anyone.
She said she didn't know Scherzer as well, but said she wasn't aware of anyone having problems with him.
"It was awful what happened last night," she said.
■ Richard Gould is a staff writer for the Hickory Daily Record.
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