North Carolina Retirement Community Worker Accused of Murder After Elderly Resident Falls, Breaks Hip

A former North Carolina nursing home worker has been arrested after an elderly resident died following an alleged dispute between the two, authorities said.

According to the Fuquay-Varina Police Department, Cynthia Williams Sellars, 54, was involved in an assault while working at the Windsor Point Retirement Community in Fuquay-Varina on Sept. 24.

Police said officers responded to the retirement community after receiving a call about a facility worker in a verbal altercation with a resident.

Investigators determined Sellers allegedly pushed Lillie Johnson Cooper, 88, to the ground, according to police.

Cooper was transported to a local hospital, where it was determined she had broken a hip bone in the fall, officials said.

Sellars was charged with one count of assault on individuals with a disability.

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Cooper, however later died from her injuries sustained in the fall. The medical examiner determined the elderly woman's manner of death homicide and the assault as the main cause of death, authorities said.

After police spoke with witnesses and consulted with the District Attorney’s office, the charge against Sellars was upgraded to one count of murder, officials said.

On Oct. 24, officers executed an arrest warrant and Sellars was booked into the Johnston County Detention Center.