North Carolina woman charged in death of assisted living resident pushed to floor, police say

FUQUAY-VARINA, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina woman has been charged with murder in the death of an 88-year-old resident of the assisted living facility where she worked, police said.

Officers responded to an argument between a worker and a resident at the Windsor Point Retirement Community in Fuquay-Varina on Sept. 24, town police said in a news release late Tuesday. Cynthia Williams Sellars, 54, of Benson, pushed Lillie Johnson Cooper to the ground, police said. Cooper was taken to a hospital with a severe injury from the fall and died not long after.

Sellars was initially charged with assault on an individual with a disability. The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Cooper’s death a homicide with an assault being the proximate cause of death, police said.

Sellars was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of murder. A court appearance was set for Wednesday. Court records do not list an attorney for Sellars, and a court clerk said they could not say if Sellars had one.