An odd coupling turned violent in Memphis this week when a 28-year-old man assaulted his 92-year-old roommate, police said.
Thomas Standley was taken into custody by officers called to the couple's home by the woman's daughter, who lives next door.
The daughter, Patricia Haynes, recalled hearing her mother scream, "Let go of me, you're hurting me," according to a court affidavit outlining the complaint.
The affidavit called the woman a "girlfriend/roommate" of Standley but a police spokesman said they couldn't confirm a romantic relationship.
Haynes said that when she went to check on her mother, Standley pushed her out of the door. Inside, her mother was still yelling for Standley to leave her alone, the daughter told police. When officers showed up, the mother told them Standley had grown angry with her because she refused to take her medicine, according to the affidavit.
The mother told police that Standley had choked her, grabbed her arms and shook her, and that her arms hurt, but she refused medical treatment, according to the affidavit. She told the officers Standley hurt her often, but she was scared to call police because she was frightened of him. She also said Standley had talked her into signing over her power of attorney, and he was resisting her attempts to undo it.
Standley was charged with domestic assault and was being held in Shelby County Jail.
