Man accused of trying to kill roommate over electric bill

TIGARD, OR (KPTV/CNN) — Police in Oregon say a 72-year-old man tried to kill his 74-year-old roommate because she asked for his share of the electric bill.

Now, he’s in jail facing several charges, including attempted murder.

Charlotte Simons says she was attacked by her roommate, Leo Miller, nearly two weeks ago. She asked for his half of the electric bill, but he wasn’t ready to pay it.

“He said ‘I’m going to kill you, you b****.’ Those were his exact words. My words were, Leo?” Simons told KPTV.

She says she was sitting in her recliner watching television when he came at her with a plastic bag around his hand.

“He thought he could suffocate me with that,” she said. “I played dead… I just went limp and he thought that he killed me.”

She managed to pull out her life alert necklace to call for help.

But investigators say when Miller realized what Simons was doing, he started punching her in the face.

Her right eye was swollen shut.

“I couldn’t even open it, I mean it was a mess,” Simons told KPTV.

But – even at the age of 74 – she was determined to fight back.

“That’s when I reached for his gonads and I just squeezed them as hard as I could,” she said. “If I had a pair of cutters, he wouldn’t be wearing ’em today, he’d be at the hospital.”

KPTV reported that Simons spent two days in the hospital. She said she’ll be happy if Miller never gets out of jail.

“If you want to beat up on somebody, go to the gym and work out on a body bag,” she said.

Miller made his first appearance in court on Monday and pleaded not guilty.