Suspect in Fatal Attack on Elderly Couple in Pasadena Denies Charges

A man accused of killing an elderly woman and injuring her husband in a seemingly random attack while the couple was out for their morning walk in Pasadena last month denied charges of murder and elder abuse during a court appearance on Wednesday, officials said.

Oscar Villamil, 43, described as homeless, pleaded not guilty to the charges at an arraignment hearing in the Pasadena branch of Los Angeles County Superior Court, according to court officials. A preliminary hearing setting was scheduled for March 3.

The charges stem from the killing of Pui Gee Ng Lee, 80, of Pasadena, as well as injuries to her husband, in connection with the attack, which unfolded about 7:45 a.m. on Dec. 29 at Colorado Boulevard and Arroyo Parkway, according to Pasadena Police Department and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s officials.

“The investigation revealed that the elderly couple was walking on the sidewalk when the suspect, for unknown reason(s) and without provocation, punched and kicked the male victim and pushed the female victim, causing her to fall and hit her head on the concrete sidewalk,” police said in a written statement.

The woman, who fell from a 4-foot-tall ledge during the attack, was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said. She clung to life for a week before succumbing to her injuries on the morning of Jan. 5. Her husband was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

An autopsy had been completed, but an official cause of death was yet to be determined pending the results of additional forensic tests, according to Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner records.

Also on the morning of Jan. 5, a tipster spotted Villamil on a Metro Gold Line train, recognizing him from a photograph on a wanted flier, police said. He was detained by deputies at the Fillmore Station and turned over to Pasadena police.

Villamil’s prior criminal history included two pending battery charges, along with previous convictions for battery committed by an inmate on a non-inmate; vandalism; assault of a custody official by “gassing,” a term used to describe assaulting jail staff with bodily fluids; assault; battery on a peace officer; assault with a deadly weapon; annoying or molesting a child; two counts of battery; child endangerment; solicitation to commit a lewd act in public; and DUI, records show.

Bail for Villamil was set at $2 million, according to booking records.

Anyone with information can reach Pasadena police at (626) 744-4501. Tips may also be submitted anonymously to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

See also:

Man Charged With Murder, Elder Abuse In Connection With Fatal Attack on Woman in Pasadena

Suspect Arrested in Connection With Random, Fatal Attack on Elderly Couple in Old Pasadena

Police Seek Man in Relation to Attack on Elderly Couple in Old Pasadena