PITTSBURGH — An 83-year-old man with dementia who was reported missing by his family was found stabbed to death inside his next-door neighbor’s home over the weekend.
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Lester Bridges was reported missing around 8 p.m. Friday. Police found him 12 hours later inside a home next door on Hilliards Street in the City’s Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar neighborhood.
The homeowner who admitted to stabbing Bridges was taken in for questioning on Saturday. As of Monday, no charges have been filed.
Lester Bridges’ family says they have questions about the timeline that man gave police.
“If he broke in and you were really afraid for your life, why didn’t you call the authorities?” Bridges’ granddaughter tells Channel 11. “He was a neighbor. He knew my grandfather.”
She first reported her 83-year-old grandfather, with dementia, missing after he left the house in the bitter cold and didn’t come right back.
At 8 a.m. Saturday, the homeowner next door called police to report that a man tried to break into his home at 2 a.m. and he stabbed him to death. Police weren’t called until six hours after the stabbing, at 8 a.m.
“I wouldn’t think they would stab him to death and leave him in there for hours,” Bridges’ granddaughter added.
A neighbor says everyone knew Lester Bridges and looked out for him as he worked on his truck, walked to the bus stop and made his way back home.
“The 2 a.m. -8 a.m., the first thing you’re doing is going for your phone and calling 911.”
That neighbor tells Channel 11 that right around the time Bridges disappeared Friday night, he was disoriented and tried to knock on her door, but he was gone by the time she opened it. She later found out that he was stabbed to death right across the street.
“It hurt me to my core to even hear that happened to him,” a neighbor tells Channel 11.
Police say they’re still investigating. For Lester Bridges’ family, justice is charges being filed.
“He didn’t deserve this,” Bridges’ granddaughter added. “He’s a good man. He’d give the clothes off his back if he could. That man is harmless.”
Lester Bridges did have a tracker device in his shoes in case he wandered off, but his granddaughter said he was wearing his slippers at the time.
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