Nursing hme resident charged with killing roommate-Wilton,CT

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Nursing home resident charged with killing roommate

By Mark Ginocchio

Staff Writer

September 28, 2004

WILTON -- An elderly man who lived at the Wilton Meadows Healthcare Center was charged yesterday with killing his roommate by beating him with a bed footboard.

John Tamkun, 88, killed Thomas Mullen, 82, striking him in the head and other parts of his body with the footboard, Wilton police said.

Mullen's prone body was discovered in his room by a Wilton Meadows employee shortly after midnight yesterday, police said. Tamkun was still in the room.

Police were called at 12:23 a.m. and were at the scene by 12:30 a.m. They questioned Tamkun, who "quickly confessed," Lt. Robert Crosby said.

Tamkun was taken to Norwalk Hospital for a medical examination and was arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter after his release. He is being held at Bridgeport Correctional Facility on a court-ordered $350,000 bond. Police said it has been eight years since a similar death in Wilton.

Tamkun's attorney, James Diamond, said his client has a history of mental illness and has dementia.

At Tamkun's arraignment at state Superior Court in Norwalk yesterday, Diamond asked Judge William Hickey whether his client could be transferred immediately to Connecticut Valley Hospital in Middletown. Hickey denied the request.

"He definitely has psychiatric needs," said Diamond, who would not comment on Tamkun's confession or any other evidence. "It's a tragedy . . . and he's distraught."

Tamkun's mental condition worsened after his wife's death a year ago, Diamond said.

During his arraignment, a handcuffed Tamkun was taken into the courtroom in a wheelchair and was unable to answer the judge's questions coherently.

Asked whether he understood his Miranda rights, he mumbled, "I don't understand."

Though Tamkun is not confined to a wheelchair, Diamond said, "He's 88 years old, he's elderly and he needed the assistance of a wheelchair today."

Tamkun, who lived in Glastonbury for more than 70 years, lived at Wilton Meadows for a month, police said. No previous incidents had been reported between he and Mullen, who had lived at the facility for about a year, authorities said.

Wilton Meadows administrator June Lagan said the men "even palled around together."

No one heard any altercation, Lagan said. Mullen was discovered dead when the nursing assistant made a "routine round" to take one of the residents juice. When the nurse last checked the room at 10:45 p.m., "everything was fine," Lagan said.

Roommates are paired by the staff and if there are problems, they are separated, Lagan said. But there was no indication Mullen and Tamkun didn't get along.

The families of Mullen and Tamkun, who both live in Wilton, according to Wilton Meadows employees, did not attend the arraignment, though Tamkun's daughter was at court earlier, Diamond said.

Neither family could be reached for comment yesterday afternoon.

Lagan said that in her 18 years at the facility, no seriously violent altercations have occurred between residents.

"I never encountered anything like this before," she said. "It shakes your boots."

Social workers counseled residents yesterday, Lagan said.

State police are gathering evidence, but Wilton police are investigating, Chief Ed Kulhawik said.

The case was continued to Oct. 14 and transferred to state Superior Court in Stamford, where more serious crimes are handled.  

Copyright © 2004, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.