83-Year-Old Woman Hospitalized After Being Assaulted By Handyman

An elderly East Hampton woman was hospitalized after being assaulted by her handyman on Saturday morning, according to multiple reports.

Irene Foster, 83, who was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital for a fractured skull with brain swelling and several broken bones, is expected to make a full recovery, according to 27east.

The incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Saturday Bronte O’Neal, 50, of Bridgehampton, whom Foster says she has known for a year, was at Foster’s home doing work for her, according to The East Hampton Star.

Foster told police she found $200 missing from her wallet. When she accused O’Neal of taking the money, he punched her in the face and she fell backwards hitting her head on the fridge, and then she heard him take her car keys off the counter, according to The East Hampton Star.

However, O’Neal, who claims to have known Foster for three years, told police that on Friday night, Foster had paid him the $200 and that she had drank three bottles of wine. The following morning when he was leaving, she grabbed his shoulder, pulled him back, and swung an empty bottle of wine at his head but missed, according to The East Hampton Star.

He then said he pushed her in the face, and that he took the keys to the car (which he said he had permission to use when he was at the property) and drove it to Mastic-Shirley, according to The East Hampton Star.

O’Neal was charged with felony assault, arraigned at East Hampton Justice Court and remanded to Suffolk County Jail in lieu of a $50,000 bail, according to 27east.

He might also be charged with possibly stealing Foster’s car, according to the report.

The investigation is ongoing.