Massachusetts woman, 98, accused of killing roommate, 100

Laura Lundquist was sent to a state mental hospital for a competency evaluation before her arraignment. Her defense attorney, Carl Levin, said she has a "long-standing diagnosis of dementia, as well as issues of cognitive impairment."

She is believed to be the oldest murder defendant in state history, but might never go to trial because of her mental health issues.

Her roommate at the Brandon Woods nursing home in Dartmouth, Elizabeth Barrow, was found dead in her bed Sept. 24 with a plastic bag tied around her head. Police initially speculated it was a suicide, but a medical examiner ruled it a homicide after an autopsy indicated strangulation.

Barrow's son, Scott Barrow, has said Lundquist complained to nursing home officials about the number of visitors his mother received. He also has said Lundquist had made "threatening" and "harassing" remarks to her. He declined to comment on the indictment, which was handed up Friday by a Bristol grand jury.

Bristol District Attorney Sam Sutter said Lundquist suffered from paranoia and "harbored hostility toward the victim" and thought Barrow "was taking over the room they shared."