By James Caldwell, PWTorch.com assistant editor

Former AWA star and founder Verne Gagne is linked to the death of an elderly man he shared a room with an assisted living facility. Gagne reportedly threw the man down to the ground, causing permanent damage that ended his life 20 days later.

Gagne suffers from severe dementia and his family says he does not remember any of the incident with roommate Helmut Gutmann, 97 years old, that resulted in Gutmann breaking his hip.

The incident took place on January 26 and the Minnesota Post reports: "An ambulance was summoned and Gutmann was taken to a hospital for treatment. He was released days later, but his condition deteriorated and he later died in hospice care."

Betty Gutmann, the wife of the roommate, was saddened by the events, but understands Gagne does not understand what happened.

"You can't blame the person that did it," she said. "Gagne doesn't know what he's doing. I feel so sorry for his family, because they are faced with a terrible problem of what to do."

Gagne reportedly had a history of violent outbursts where he returned to his wrestling form and put other elderly patients in chokeholds. A third such incident led to his dismissal from the assisted living facility, but he was then allowed to return.

FYI: Verne Gagne was inducted into the 2006 WWE Hall of Fame class in Chicago prior to WrestleMania 22, ending a long-standing feud against Vince McMahon, at least for one night.

Caldwell's Analysis: This is a very sad story. It's certainly sad for Mr. Gutmann, who is listed as a Nazi survivor from World War II and apparently contributed to society when he moved to the U.S. As for Gagne, it shouldn't be the lasting memory of a man who dedicated his life to wrestling and serving the community. It's merely a sign of what happens to healthy men in their old age when life changes, but the only thing they know in life is their former line of work. Gagne's line of work just happened to be amateur and pro wrestling, and he was a heck of an athlete.

Link: Minnesota Post story.

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