Patient Kills Roommate At Norristown State Hospital: DA

NORRISTOWN, PA — A patient at Norristown State Hospital choked a fellow patient and roommate to death over the weekend, according to authorities.

The incident occurred on Sunday, July 14 at around 9:45 p.m. in building 10 on the state hospital grounds.

Kyle Samuels-Robey, 34, shared a room with the victim, 25-year-old Jacob Gonzalez, Pennsylvania State Police and Montgomery County detectives said.

The circumstances leading up to the incident remain unclear, though Samuels-Roby later told police that Gonzalez had "thrown his books," according to a criminal complaint.

Samuels-Robey asked a nurse for ice for a swollen hand after the killing, and that's when hospital staff discovered Gonzalez had been attacked, police said.

Gonzalez was taken to Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital where he was declared dead. His cause of death was asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.

Samuels-Robey was charged with first and third degree murder. No bail is available for those charges and he was booked at Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 25.