MINNEAPOLIS – Former professional wrestling champion Verne Gagne won't be charged in the death a fellow dementia patient who Gagne attacked.
Hennepin County Mike Freeman says it's clear that the 83-year-old Gagne lacked the mental capacity necessary to have intended to harm 97-year-old Helmut Gutmann.
Police say Gagne threw Gutmann to the ground without provocation in January at a nursing home in Bloomington. Gutmann later died of complications of a broken hip.
Gagne has Alzheimer's disease and Freeman says it would have been "unjust" to bring charges.
Freeman says the incident was a tragedy for both families, but not a crime. He praised the compassion of Gutmann's family for recognizing that.
Gagne owned the American Wrestling Association, which promoted pro wrestling across the Midwest from 1960 until it folded in 1991.
