Foul play suspected in patient’s death at Coventry assisted living facility
By Andrea Medeiros
Twitter: www.twitter.com/abc6
COVENTRY, R.I. – In the seven years Craig Pianka has owned the Summer Villa Assisted Living Center, he says nothing like the violence that took place at the center Saturday has ever happened. “It's heart-wrenching, this is their home,” Pianka said.
“At first, we thought it was a massive heart attack. We were obviously crushed and then we found out through videotape a couple days later it was a shocking reality.”
Summer villa resident Domenic Petrarca, 54, is charged with felony assault for using his fist and two other objects in a backyard smoking area here to attack another resident, 61 year-old Joseph Costa.
Coventry police chief Bryan Volpe said the attack was “vicious”, and that they're investigating video surveillance of the assault. Police have not yet released the video to the public.
Residents at Summer Villa are just hearing the news, thinking today of their friend Joe Costa, who they say loved bowling. “Oh, I cried a little. He would go to the store for you, yeah,” said Barbara Adams, a Summer Villa resident.
