A man previously convicted of simple assault in Dover NJ now faces murder charges in Arizona after authorities accused him of killing two homeless people.
According to law enforcement, the suspect murdered the victims in January 2015 and February 2015 while traveling on the Miracle Mile in Tucson, Arizona.
The suspect is a 53-year-old man who is reportedly from Idaho. He is said to be a transient who traveled across the country and targeted homeless men for violent beatings.
Arizona police connected the suspect to one of the murders after finding the victim’s body in a drainage culvert in Tucson and discovering the suspect’s hair in the victim’s fist. The victim reportedly died as a result of severe blunt force trauma to the head.
The other homicide victim was found in the Arizona desert. According to officials, the victim was suffering from a knife wound to his chest, as well as blunt force trauma to the head.
The suspect was previously convicted of simple assault in New Jersey. In July 2014, he savagely beat a homeless man with a rock under the Route 46 bridge in Dover, New Jersey. Although the suspect initially faced criminal charges for aggravated assault and various weapons offenses, he ultimately pleaded guilty to simple assault and was sentenced to time served.
The suspect is also believed to have viciously attacked another homeless person in New Jersey. In 2013, he reportedly used a rock to attack a homeless person in Roxbury, NJ. However, the suspect was never charged in connection with that assault incident.
The suspect is currently being held in an Arizona detention center while he awaits trial in the murder cases.
To learn more about this case, check out the NJ.com article, “Accused Killer of Arizona Homeless Connected to Attacks in N.J.”
