80-year-old man dies after violent Thanksgiving cooking argument

WBZ

By Mike Sullivan

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    MARSHFIELD, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A man is facing charges after his long-time friend died after an altercation while cooking Thanksgiving dinner in Massachusetts.

It happened on Wednesday afternoon on Main Street in Marshfield.

Man dies after Thanksgiving cooking altercation
Richard Lombardi, 65, was making Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday when his long-time roommate and friend Frank Griswold, 80, came into the kitchen.

Lombardi told police that Griswold was prone to sneezing and warned him not to go near the food before drawing a physical barrier using salt and pepper. Then he says Griswold got near the food, so he grabbed him by the collar and shoved him.

“Defendant did surmise that Mr. Griswold’s feet got tangled up, and he fell and hit his head on the floor,” Prosecutor Joseph Presley said.

Lombardi called 911, and police arrived to find Griswold face up in a pool of blood and with a cut on his face.

“It did appear that the victim had sustained a broken nose as well as an injury to his neck,” Presley said.

“What I heard and what I’m sure some of you heard in the courtroom was as close to an accident and nothing more as I have heard in a long time,” Defense attorney Marshall Johnson said.

The two men have known each other since the ’90s when they worked at Charles River Management together, Lombardi said. Griswold used to work as the CIO of John Hancock, and since the pandemic, Lombardi has been helping Griwold with most of his daily life, court documents show.

“To the extent that friends care for each other, yes. I wouldn’t say that he was a medical care proxy or personal care attendant, anything like that,” Johnson said.

Lombardi is charged with manslaughter, assault, and battery of a person over 60. Lombardi will be back in Plymouth District Court on Wednesday. He is being held without bail.

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