Holocaust Survivor Murdered in New York Nursing Home; 95-Year-Old Roommate Arrested

A shocking tragedy has shaken Coney Island, New York: Nina Kravtsov, an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, was found earlier this week bleeding in her nursing home room, after allegedly being brutally attacked by her new roommate, 95-year-old Galina Smirnova.

According to police reports, Smirnova allegedly removed a heavy metal pedal from her wheelchair and used it to strike Kravtsov. Staff members said that Kravtsov had gone to sleep around 9:00 p.m., but about an hour later loud noises were heard from the room. When staff rushed in, they found Kravtsov unconscious with severe facial injuries. The metal part, covered in blood, was found on the floor.

Police officers arriving at the scene found Smirnova in the bathroom, wearing a bloodstained robe and washing her hands. The floor around the sink was soaked with red puddles. The medical examiner later confirmed Kravtsov died from blunt-force trauma.

Smirnova was arrested on the spot and brought before Brooklyn Criminal Court. She was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, the wheelchair part used in the attack. Prosecutors requested a psychiatric evaluation, citing that she suffers from dementia. Smirnova is being held without bail as the investigation continues, with authorities reviewing security footage and interviewing staff.

Kravtsov, a native of Ukraine who survived the Holocaust and built a large family of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, had lived in the facility since 2020. Her family described her as a quiet, orderly woman whose life ended in unthinkable circumstances.

“This looked like a horror scene out of a Stephen King movie, not real life,” said the family’s attorney, accusing the nursing home of gross negligence for placing a frail Holocaust survivor in a shared room with a dementia patient without proper oversight.

Her daughter, Lucy Plum, rushed to New York from Florida after receiving the emergency call. “I thought maybe she had fallen, but then they told me it was something else. By the time I landed, she was already gone,” Plum said.

The family announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against the nursing home for negligent placement, lack of supervision, and breach of duty of care. In parallel, the criminal case against Smirnova moves forward.

“We will fight until we know how it happened that this woman, after surviving so much in her life, was murdered in a place that was supposed to protect her,” the attorney added.