Police: 87-year-old man beats elderly wife with hammer at New York hospital to avoid her surgery
ELMHURST, N.Y. -- An elderly man is facing charges after he allegedly beat his wife in the head with a hammer at a Queens hospital because he didn't want her to have surgery.
Police say 87-year-old Manuel Besteiro went to visit his 83-year-old wife at Elmhurst Hospital on March 7 and was told she needed a procedure.
According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Besteiro told police he "didn't want to see her suffer, so [he] hit her in the head with a hammer."
He was stopped by a nurse, who called police.
His wife needed 15 to 20 staples to close the wound, according to the complaint.
Besteiro was arraigned on first- and second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon charges on March 8 and released on his own recognizance.
A temporary order of protection was issued against him.
