Woman, 73, charged with killing her 82-year-old neighbor with brick at a home for seniors

73-year-old Chun Yong Oh is charged with the murder of 82-year-old Hwa Cha Pak of Bladensburg, Maryland.
73-year-old Chun Yong Oh is charged with the murder of 82-year-old Hwa Cha Pak of Bladensburg, Maryland.

A 73-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly beating her neighbor, 82, to death with a brick at a home for senior citizens in Maryland, authorities said Monday.

Chun Yong Oh is charged with first and second-degree murder for the death of Hwa Cha Pak, the Prince George's County Police Department said. Investigators say Oh struck the victim multiple times with a brick, then called 911 to report the murder.

Police arrived at an apartment building in Bladensburg, Maryland, early Sunday to conduct a welfare check. They found Pak suffering from "upper body trauma" in a garden behind the building.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Neighbors at the senior living facility were stunned and said the pair were longtime friends, WRC-TV in Washington, DC reported. Police say they had been in a dispute before the murder.

Pak's eldest grandson, Andy Kwon, told the Washington Post that his initial anger turned to shock when he learned the age of the woman accused of killing his grandmother. He described Pak as a single mother from South Korea who was instrumental in raising her nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

“Who in their right mind, or what kind of evil, had to creep up to take my grandmother’s life?” Kwon said to the Post.

Oh is in custody and is being held without bond.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Woman, 73, killed her 82-year-old neighbor with a brick, police say