Police said Monday they are investigating the death of an 82-year-old man as a homicide after he was assaulted and died of his injuries in Manhattan this fall.

According to the NYPD, Dean Conover Whetzel was pushed to the ground on Oct. 11 outside a cafe on the corner of Hudson and West 10th streets in the West Village. Officers responding to the incident around 1:30 p.m. found him unconscious on the sidewalk with a swollen right eye and a laceration to the back of his head.

First responders took him to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition. Police arrested and charged 79-year-old Dana Escoffier with a assault and a weapons offense in connection with the incident, NYPD officials said.

Whetzel was hospitalized until Nov. 5, when police said he succumbed to his injuries. City medical ex

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