Living with a roommate can be a fun and exciting experience.
But roommates often have different ideas about what is considered clean and neat.
And police were shocked when a 71-year-old Florida woman explained why she murdered her roommate.
Living with a roommate is an eye-opening experience for many.
Even though most people live with a friend or someone they know, many people become roommates with a total stranger.
This can either be a blessing or a curse given the fact that roommates live, eat, and sleep in the same space each day.
Of course, most people think of college kids or young professionals when it comes to having a roommate.
But having a roommate is becoming increasingly common for those in middle age and beyond.
According to a report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, nearly one million older adults in the United States have roommates.
And having a roommate did not work out well for this one elderly woman in South Florida.
Last Thursday, police received a call about a reported shooting at a home in Tampa, Florida.
Once on the scene, police discovered a man who had been shot in his upper torso.
He was unconscious and was bleeding out of multiple gunshot wounds.
The man was taken to an area hospital where he later died from his injuries.
“Upon arrival, officers located an adult male with upper body trauma,” the police report read. “The victim was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.”
But police were shocked when they discovered who shot the man.
It was not a deranged criminal.
He was murdered by his septuagenarian roommate, 71-year-old Patricia Whitehead.
“Through their investigation, detectives were able to determine that the suspect, 71-year-old Patricia Whitehead, and the victim shared a residential space,” the police report stated.
But police were even more shocked when Whitehead explained why she murdered the man.
According to the police report, she killed him because “he did not clean up after himself.”
“Whitehead had become angry with the victim, claiming he did not clean up after himself,” the police report read.
Earlier on Thursday, the victim left the residence and slammed the door behind him.
Apparently, this infuriated Whitehead to the point where she “retrieved her firearm from her bedroom, exited the residence and shot the victim multiple times.”
“On the day of the incident, the victim was leaving the residence, when Whitehead heard the victim slam the door,” the police report read. “Whitehead retrieved her firearm from her bedroom, exited the residence, and shot the victim multiple times.”
Making a mess and not cleaning up is not an acceptable justification for killing someone.
And Whitehead was arrested and locked up in the county jail on charges of first-degree murder.
She is now being held without bond at the Falkenburg Road Jail.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
