An 89-year-old Holocaust survivor was murdered by her 95-year-old roommate at a Brooklyn, New York, nursing home. Galina Smirnova, who suffers from dementia, is accused of murdering Nina Kravtsov with a pedal from her wheelchair.
According to the prosecutor’s description at trial, the nursing assistant found Kravtsov lying on her bed with severe head injuries. “There was blood all over the room, and the victim was unresponsive,” Assistant District Attorney Ari Rotenberg said.
The defendant was found in the bathroom with blood on her dress and legs, washing her hands in the sink. A wheelchair with the pedals removed was found in the room — one was on the floor covered in blood, and the other “had been thrown out the window and was on the ground below.”
Smirnova did not arrive at the nursing home until Friday, when she committed the murder two days later. Kravtsov was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead after 5:30 a.m. Monday.
Born in Ukraine, Kravtsov lost her entire family in the Holocaust when she was 5. She later became a nurse in Ukraine before immigrating to the US. She lived in Brighton Beach with her husband and moved into the nursing home after his death.
Her daughter Lucy Flum described her as a “very devoted mother” who sacrificed a lot. “She was a single mother. She gave birth to me when she was 18. She came here to give me a good education.”
The defendant appeared in court looking confused and is being held in hospital custody.