A 95-year-old care home resident murdered a maintenance worker after falsely accusing him of theft, police say.

Okey Payne is accused of killing Ricardo Medina-Rojas at Legacy Assisted Living in Lafayette, Colorado, shortly after the man arrived at work on Wednesday morning.

Payne is accused of confronting Medina-Rojas, who was in his 40s, about the alleged theft of two $100 bills from his wallet as soon as the worker came into the lobby.

He then brandished the weapon, which staff did not realize he had, before shooting the worker in the head, according to police.

Two workers who tried to help Medina-Rojas as he lay dying were menaced with the same gun by Payne moments later, it is alleged. He returned to his room, and was arrested shortly afterwards.

During a subsequent police interview, Payne claimed workers had been stealing from him, and trying to kill him, KDVR reported.

He told detectives he had woken up with needle marks on his big toe, and believed staff at the facility were surreptitiously injecting him with drugs, a police report claims.

The cop who conducted the interview said the elderly suspect was ‘clear headed’ and ‘lucid’ throughout, and had no issue answering questions. An investigation found no evidence that Payne had been the victim of any thefts.

He told investigators that the .45 caliber gun used in the shooting had been given to him by his dad when he was 23, and had been used by his father during the First World War.

He now faces being charged with first-degree murder, and is being held ahead of a court appearance.

A spokesman for the care home said they were ‘devastated’ by the brutal murder. Medina-Rojas’s loved ones were too upset to speak about his death.

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