Argument over loud radio leads to death of 83-year-old patient at Arizona State Hospital

Robert Wayne Fleming, 58, is charged in the death of a fellow patient at Arizona State Hospital, authorities say. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

What began Tuesday morning as an argument between two patients at a psychiatric facility in Arizona ended with the death of one patient and the arrest of the other on second-degree murder charges, according to reports.

Authorities say Robert Wayne Fleming, 58, and Donald Prather, 83, were patients in adjoining rooms at the Arizona State Hospital in Phoenix and that Fleming became upset because Prather was playing his radio too loud.

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The two men started arguing in the hallway, FOX 10 of Phoenix reported. Fleming then struck Prather several times, knocking him unconscious, and causing him to strike his head when he fell to the floor.

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Fleming continued striking Prather after he fell, Phoenix police spokesman Tommy Thompson told the Arizona Republic.

Prather later died at Maricopa Medical Center, police told FOX 10, and Fleming was booked into the Maricopa County Jail, according to police.