Man Accused of Gouging Out His Grandmother's Eyes Kills Himself

A 30-year-old Long Island man accused of gouging out his 78-year-old grandmother's eyes with his fingers killed himself in his jail cell last Friday, according to a Newsday report published Monday night.

Micheal Grief was found hanging inside his cell at the Suffolk County Jail in Yaphank around 4 a.m. Friday, the report says. He was pronounced dead at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore that night.

Grief was being held in jail on $1 million bond or $500,000 cash bail following his arraignment last Wednesday on felony assault charges.

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini, around 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 19, while at their shared residence in Sayville, Grief became engaged in an argument with his grandmother over his use of her debit card, which he had allegedly used to overdraw her account by $1,000. His grandmother became fearful and exited the house to seek assistance from a neighbor.

Grief followed his grandmother outside, accosted her outside of the neighbor's house and gouged her eyes with his fingers, Sini said. The force of the assault caused the globes of her eyes to rupture. Neighbors became aware of the assault and called police.

The grandmother was transported by Community Ambulance Company to Stony Brook University Hospital where she underwent surgery for about eight hours in an attempt to save her vision. She has been given a less than 1 percent chance to regain any vision, according to the hospital.