A Lancaster city woman has been charged today with pushing her 63-year-old mother into a wall, causing her to fall down a flight of stairs to her death. 

Elissa Blair Waltman, of the 300 block of Laurel Street, was charged Thursday with involuntary manslaughter and simple assault.

Waltman, 34, is accused of pushing Eileen Flugrath into a wall, which caused her to fall down a staircase inside Flugrath’s residence in the 100 block of Pickwick Place in Millersville Borough the morning of April 5, 2026.

Flugrath died of her injuries four days later. An autopsy determined Flugrath died of traumatic head and neck injuries she sustained in the fall and her death was ruled a homicide.

Police arrived at the residence shortly after 10:30 a.m. to find Flugrath injured and bleeding at the bottom of the staircase and rendered aid until she was taken to a hospital. Officers also found an indentation in the wall at the top of the stairs that an eyewitness said was not there before.

When initially speaking to police, Waltman said she and Flugrath had been arguing when Flugrath backed up and fell down the stairs on her own, denying that she ever touched her mother during the confrontation and claiming she had only yelled at her. Waltman later admitted to having pushed Flugrath, causing her to fall into the wall and then down the staircase.

A resident on the building’s bottom floor told police they heard a crash and then found Flugrath face-down at the base of the stairs. Waltman, who was at the top of the steps, was cursing and immediately claimed that she never touched Flugrath, the resident told police. 

Judge Joshua Keller denied Waltman bail in a preliminary arraignment Thursday morning. Waltman remains in Lancaster County Prison.

Millersville Borough Police Lt. Jason Scott filed the charges.