Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ATLANTA (AP) — The girlfriend of the man who mistakenly killed a disoriented Alzheimer's patient said she had doubts the stranger at her home was a threat just before the shooting.
The woman described the events leading to the shooting of 72-year-old Ronald Westbrook in documents released to The Associated Press under Georgia's open records law.
Westbrook suffered from dementia and wandered away from his home early Nov. 27.
He walked to the home where Joe Hendrix was staying with his then-girlfriend, rang the doorbell and tried opening the door. The woman called 911. Hendrix ultimately went outside and shot the man.
The woman said that she did not consider the stranger "a big deal" and warned Hendrix that he appeared to be an old man.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
