On Aug. 19, Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin announced the results of a homicide investigation into the death of an 89-year-old man who had resided at Whitehall Manor, 1177 Sixth St.

According to reports, Frank Schwartz died Jan. 24, 2020. Lehigh County Coroner Eric Minnich ruled the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and pneumonia with abscess formation. He ruled the manner of death homicide - a death at the hands of another.

After an investigation into Schwartz’s death, Whitehall Township Police Department determined Schwartz was likely attacked Dec. 15, 2019, by a fellow Whitehall Manor resident living in the same dementia care unit at the seniors facility.

According to Martin, the resident who allegedly attacked Schwartz will not face criminal charges in the death. His name will also not be released.

The decision not to file criminal charges, Martin said, was made for the following reasons:

• There were no witnesses to an attack on Schwartz. He was found by Whitehall Manor personnel and transported to an area hospital. Whitehall police then began its investigation.

• Both before the attack and in months after, Schwartz is said to have suffered injuries and been hospitalized due to several falls and other health concerns.

• The person police and Martin believe to have allegedly attacked Schwartz was subsequently committed under the provisions of the Mental Health Act.

“While Schwartz survived 40 days following this incident, his medical condition remained declined, and he never completely recovered from the injuries of Dec. 15, (2019),” Minnich said in his report.

“It cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the blunt force trauma injuries that Mr. Schwartz suffered were inflicted by the ‘person of interest,’” Martin concluded. “Given [the person of interest’s] mental condition, it is unlikely that he could have formed the requisite intent and also unlikely that he would ever be deemed competent to stand trial.”

Martin commended Whitehall Township police and Minnich on conducting a thorough investigation into this matter.