Topeka — Police suspect a man living in a group home beat several of its residents before killing an elderly woman who lived across the street.
Police found Elizabeth Cowperthwaite, 85, dead late Tuesday in the front courtyard of a southwest Topeka apartment complex. It was the fifth homicide in the city in three days.
Police arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of battery before finding the woman's body. Topeka Police Lt. John Sidwell said the man, a group home resident whose name was not released, is a suspect in Cowperthwaite's killing. No charges had been filed as of Wednesday afternoon.
About 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, a staff member at the group home called police to report a resident was assaulting other patients and staff, police said.
He fled the residence before officers arrived and was arrested by a Topeka Public Schools security officer nearby. Police said seven people were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The group home is operated by Menninger Foundation.
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