Cleveland police records say woman’s death followed fight with cousin over cigarette

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - New details were just disclosed to 19 News regarding the homicide of a 62-year-old woman.

The victim, identified in Cleveland police records as Eleanor McGee, reported to officers that she was pushed down the steps of the front porch where she was living over a cigarette.

According to a Cleveland police spokesperson, officers were called out to an assault on Sept. 8, 2021 at a Hillview Road home in the Euclid - Green neighborhood.

EMS was on scene treating McGee when law enforcement arrived.

The 62-year-old told officers she’d been pushed down the stairs by her cousin after declining to give her a cigarette, a Cleveland police report said.

According to the report, McGee said her cousin left after their argument.

On Nov. 21, 2021, detectives learned McGee was paralyzed from her injuries, which included blunt force trauma to her neck, the spokesperson said.

She died two days later on Nov. 23 of an infected sacral decubitus ulcer, according to police and the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office.

McGee’s daughter Lauren Woodson tells 19 News, “After she found out she couldn’t eat anymore and had to be on a breathing tube, she just pretty much gave up you know and she was devastated, she was heartbroken. She just kept saying why?”

Cleveland police said homicide investigators have identified a person of interest, and the name of that person has not been confirmed to 19 News.

This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for updates.

Copyright 2022 WOIO. All rights reserved.