Elderly Man's Cause of Death Linked to 1999 Beating
Lowell Noble, an 82-year-old man that suffered a severe beating at the hands of a 49-year-old assailant in May of 1999 died on January 7th as a result of a traumatic brain injury. Noble suffered from heart problems and diabetes and required a walker to get around places. However, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner discovered that Noble’s health problems and advanced age did not contribute to his death but instead traumatic brain injury resulting from aspiration pneumonia, inflammation in the lungs and airways.
According to MercuryNews.com, Noble suffered from a swallowing problem that directly resulted in Noble’s traumatic brain injury. At the time of the attack, Walter Jones, Noble’s attacker, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and elder abuse. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison for attacking his own mother as well as Noble.
The swallowing problem that Noble suffered from is typically brought on by a lack of neural control in the process of swallowing. This reduced neural control could have been a direct result of the attack Noble suffered. According to this report, Noble suffered short-term memory loss as a result of the brain injury that he sustained and he was no longer able to live on his own. This attack took away an elderly man’s freedom to live independently and tragically took his life. This incident demonstrates how any pre-existing physical injuries can easily be worsened and cause much more severe problems for sufferers.
