10 hours ago
State police: Carbon County woman acted like cat in fatal attack on elderly man
A Nesquehoning woman is accused of causing a 79-year-old man's death and acting erratically before, during and after the attack.
According to a criminal complaint, Pennsylvania State Police were dispatched to a house on Parker Mews in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, shortly after 9 a.m. Aug. 10 regarding the whereabouts of a mental health warrant subject, Ashley Self, 32. While troopers were heading to the scene, the victim's son reported to 911 that his father, Kenneth Greenfield, was being attacked by 'Ashley,' who was later identified as Self.
Troopers found Greenfield on his bed, unresponsive and with a laceration on his left forearm. They also saw that the nasal cannula from Greenfield's oxygen tank was not fastened to him, and its tubing was broken.
Trooper Samantha Doherty, the affiant of the criminal complaint, interviewed the son after she arrived at the scene. He told Doherty that he picked up Self earlier on Aug. 10 from a location that was not disclosed in the complaint. While at his Parker Mews residence, Self fell asleep. The son said that when Self woke up at around 8:30 a.m., she started acting like a cat, meowing and rubbing up against him.
The son told Self that she would need to leave, or he would have to call police. In response, the son said, Self started to strip completely nude. The son went to the garage to call a mutual friend to about Self's behavior. The son said he then heard Greenfield yelling from his bedroom.
Upon entering Greenfield's bedroom, the son said, he saw Self attempting to push Greenfield down on his bed. While Greenfield attempted to fight off Self, she began "clawing at him like a cat," the complaint said. The son unsuccessfully tried to remove Self from his father, telling police later that she had 'superhuman strength.' The son called 911 and remained on the line until troopers arrived and began performing life-saving measures on Greenfield.
The son told troopers that Greenfield was always hooked up to oxygen due to suffering from asthma, emphysema and COPD. Lehighton EMS transported Greeenfield to St. Luke's Hospital-Carbon Campus, where he was pronounced dead at 10:45 a.m.
Troopers found Self about 100 yards from the residence, 'completely nude' and 'barking, meowing, and howling upon her apprehension.'
Self was charged with first-degree misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter, and second-degree misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person and simple assault. She has a preliminary hearing on Aug. 20 in front of Magisterial District Judge Eric Schrantz.
Max Augugliaro is the public safety and government watchdog reporter at the Pocono Record. Reach him at MAugugliaro@
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Nesquehoning woman found barking, meowing after fatal attack on man
