She was killed over cable.
A Staten Island woman died of a brain hemorrhage a day after being beaten by her husband, who was enraged that she hadn’t paid extra for him to be able to watch premium channels while he was hospitalized over Thanksgiving, law enforcement sources said.
Thomas Scala, 57, is currently charged with assault and criminal mischief for the alleged Nov. 26 attack inside the New Dorp Beach home he shared with his deceased wife, Blanche, 59.
However more serious charges – possibly murder or manslaughter – could be forthcoming once the case goes before a grand jury, the sources said.
When Scala hit Blanche with what investigators believe was an ashtray during the argument, the impact caused a re-bleeding of a brain wound that she suffered during a previous domestic violence incident on Nov. 19, according to the sources.
The medical examiner has ruled her Nov. 27 death a homicide due to blunt impact trauma to head.
Scala, who has a history of health issues, including diabetes, was arrested yesterday after getting out of the hospital, where he had been for the past three months.
Scala was previously in the hospital during the Thanksgiving holiday, sources said.
When he was released on Nov. 26, he allegedly got into a huge fight with Blanche inside their Finley Avenue residence for not shelling out a little extra dough so he could surf the cable networks while laid up.
“There’s this huge blowup and he starts throwing things around the house,” one source said.
Scala would later admit to hitting the woman, the source added.
The woman packed her clothes into a small shopping cart in an attempt to leave, but Scala allegedly drenched them with rubbing alcohol and used hairspray to light them on fire.
Blanche managed to extinguish the flames, but suffered burns to her hands.
She retreated to a friend’s home and later sought medical attention for her wounds at Staten Island University Hospital, sources said.
When she got out later in the day, Scala allegedly showed up at her friend’s house and began harassing his wife.
Cops were called and Scala left.
Just before Blanche went to sleep, she complained to her friend of nausea and headaches, sources said.
The next morning, she was discovered not breathing on a couch.
Blanche was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital.
Autopsy results showed that the beating the woman suffered at the hands of Scala triggered the bleeding of a prior subdural hematoma, a traumatic injury where blood collects on the surface of the brain.
Investigators soon found out that on Nov. 19, Scala had beaten the woman about her head, sources said. Images obtained from family members allegedly showed a bruised chin and face.
Scala was scheduled to be arraigned today in Staten Island Criminal Court.