WOONSOCKET — A Providence man will be charged Monday with murder in the death of a 71-year-old man he allegedly beat and robbed Nov. 2, the spokesman for the attorney general confirmed yesterday. The man died two days later.

Santiago Pena, 54, of 116 Julian St., Providence, will be arraigned on a charge of first-degree murder in District Court, Providence, according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

Pena has been held at the Adult Correctional Institutions since Nov. 2 on charges of first-degree robbery and burglary in connection with the assault and robbery of Ivon Dufresne, of 63 Rutland St.

The Woonsocket Police Department said it received a report from the medical examiner’s office that the cause of death was asphyxia due to strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. According to the medical examiner, Dufresne’s head and neck injuries caused his air passage to swell and bleed and that led to his asphyxiation.

The police responded to Dufresne’s apartment on Nov. 2 at 1:55 a.m. to investigate a reported assault and robbery. The police found Dufresne bleeding with an open cut on his head.

Dufresne told the police that he was having sex with a woman when a man she was often with burst into his bedroom and punched him several times in the face. Dufresne said the woman and man left together, according to a police report.

The police arrested Pena at the woman’s apartment the same day. The woman has not been charged.

Dufresne was taken to Landmark Medical Center and returned home that day. His friend Robert St. Laurent, 51, of 299 Morin Heights Blvd., said Dufresne complained of pain in his head and said he was worried about money he said had been taken from him during the assault.

St. Laurent said he was concerned for Dufresne’s health and kept an eye on him throughout Sunday, and all day Monday. St. Laurent said that at 4 p.m. Monday, Dufresne asked him if he could spend the night. He said he changed Dufresne’s ice pack at 4 a.m. Tuesday and slept on the couch. He told the police when he checked on his friend at about 7 a.m., he found him lying unresponsive on the floor. The police were called and a rescue squad pronounced him dead, the police said.

Responding to questions about Dufresne’s death, Bill Fischer, spokesman for Landmark Medical Center, said: “Mr. Dufresne was released from Landmark Medical Center in stable condition. The usual standard of care was followed. It’s also important to point out the Woonsocket Police are investigating the circumstances of Mr. Dufresne’s death after he was discharged in stable condition.”

tpina@projo.com