SAN JOSE — The death of a man who was allegedly assaulted by his roommate nine months ago has been officially declared a homicide following the completion of a coroner’s investigation, authorities announced Thursday.
Gabriel Jerome Palma, 59, was living in an East San Jose home on Florence Avenue with 29-year-old David Gregg on Oct. 22 when Gregg punched Palma “several times in the face” and then ran off, according to San Jose police. Palma refused medical attention when contacted by responding police officers, who searched the area but did not find Gregg. But that evening, police said, another person who lived at the home found Palma lying on the floor of his bedroom “after apparently collapsing and hitting his head on the edge of his bed frame,” and Palma was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.
On Oct. 28, Palma died, according to police and records from the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office. San Jose police detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Gregg, and on Nov. 11, county sheriff’s deputies took him into custody, and he was charged with felony assault. San Jose police said on July 27, they received an investigative report from the coroner’s office ruling that Palma’s death was a homicide. The coroner also reported that he died from complications from a blunt-force injury to his head and a subdural hemorrhage.