EDMONDS — Detectives say an 88-year-old man died last week after his son slapped him hard enough to cause a fatal brain injury.
Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives on Sunday arrested Harold Lloyd, 56, of Lynnwood for investigation of second-degree murder, according to a police affidavit filed Monday in Everett District Court. He was ordered held in Snohomish County Jail on $1 million bail.
On Thanksgiving day, Lloyd and his two college-age children went to his parents’ home in unincorporated Edmonds for the holiday, according to court paperwork.
Lloyd’s daughter told him that her grandfather touched her inappropriately while she was helping him with his computer, court documents said. Lloyd gathered his son and daughter to leave the house. When family members were saying goodbye, Lloyd saw his father grope his 21-year-old daughter, according to a court document.
On Nov. 28, Lloyd went back to his parents’ house to talk to his father. He told his stepmother to stay in the bedroom. He found his father in the living room watching TV and confronted him. The older man denied groping his granddaughter and told Lloyd to get out of the house.
Lloyd reportedly became angry and slapped his father with his left hand hard enough to knock out the older man’s hearing aid from his left ear. The two continued arguing. Lloyd slapped his father with the other hand, sending the second hearing aid flying across the room.
The older man’s wife intervened and Lloyd left.
The older man allegedly had two black eyes and complained of a headache, but the couple didn’t call police or seek medical attention. His wife also found bruises on his arms.
A few days later, the man became ill. His wife called 911 and he was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.
The man died early Wednesday. Doctors reportedly concluded his fatal injuries were caused by blows to his head.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office was scheduled to perform an autopsy on Monday.
Katya Yefimova:425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
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