A Texas man has been charged with murder for allegedly killing an 83-year-old woman in San Lorenzo at an independent senior living facility in unincorporated Alameda County two months ago, sheriff's officials said Monday.
The victim, Ru Feng, was discovered conscious yet unresponsive on the lobby floor of the Kent Gardens facility on Kent Avenue in San Lorenzo at about 7:15 p.m. on July 16, according to sheriff's officials.
Authorities initially believed Feng had suffered a medical episode and fell to the ground because no one saw her fall and there were no reports of anything unusual, sheriff's officials said.
Feng was taken to a local hospital to be treated for her injuries but died two days later, according to sheriff's officials.
Investigators later reviewed video footage that depicted Feng being assaulted by Sean Wallace, 30, of Cedar Hill, Texas, sheriff's officials said.
The Alameda County District Attorney's Office then filed murder charges against Wallace, who was arrested in Texas, according to sheriff's officials.
Wallace was extradited from Texas on Friday and is now in custody at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, sheriff's officials said.
Local
Jail records indicate that Wallace is scheduled to appear in Alameda County Superior Court in Dublin on Wednesday.
Sheriff's Detective Kenneth Gemmell wrote in a probable cause declaration that video surveillance shows Wallace entered the senior living facility's parking lot at about 7:15 p.m. on July 16, approached Feng and tapped her on her shoulder, apparently to ask a question or gain her attention.
Gemmell said Feng, who didn't speak English, brushed Wallace's arm away as she entered her code to open the facility's lobby doors but as the doors opened Wallace pushed her to the ground, causing her to strike her head on the lobby's tile floor.
Wallace left the area on foot and told another resident that it appeared that someone had fallen in the lobby, according to Gemmell.
The resident went to the lobby, where Kent Gardens officials found Feng, who was conscious but unresponsive, Gemmell wrote. Feng then died two days later.
Multiple Kent Gardens employees later identified Wallace as the suspect in double-blind, sequential photo lineups, according to Gemmell.
Sheriff's detectives interviewed Wallace at his home in Cedar Hills, Texas, on Aug. 7 but it was apparent that Wallace doesn't have the normal mental functions of a 30-year-old and his mother told the detectives that he's mentally retarded, Gemmell said.
Wallace gave investigators multiple versions of what happened with Feng but ultimately said it was an accident and he had made a mistake, Gemmell wrote.
However, Gemmell said, "Wallace knew the difference between the truth and a lie, and knew the difference between what is right and what is wrong."
Sheriff's officials said anyone with information about the case should call them at (510) 667-7721 or their anonymous tip line at (510) 667-3622.
