Houston, Texas (KTRK) – A 39-year-old man has been arrested and charged with first degree murder after a 66-year-old homeless man was beaten to death earlier in June.
Richard Denton Needham was charged four days after the June 3 murder of Lawrence Jerusha.
According to Det. Keith Lovelace of HPD, officers responded to the 400 block in Franklin near Bagby Street at approximately 6:30 a.m. after a passing driver found an unresponsive man.
The victim, now identified as Jerusha, suffered severe trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
At the time of the autopsy, which determined that Jerusha had died from blunt force trauma to his face and head, no suspect was in custody. However, detectives identified Needham as the suspect and charged him on 7 June.
According to the charging documents, the victim was lying on his back, so he was “most likely asleep at the time of his death.”
The beating was recorded on video surveillance from 713 Music Hall.
The documents said Jerusha had set up his sleeping area shortly before 9 p.m., but the next morning around 4:36 a.m. a man in dark clothes approached him, assaulted him, and left, adding that although the suspect left, he was in later. is back.
The documents stated that Needham was “seen in one passage carrying a large pipe or pole in his left hand … the object extending past his leg”.
Police tracked down Needham after he went to the nearby Ecclesia Church and asked if anyone had recognized him. He was identified as someone who frequented church and homeless outreach activities, but was banned for aggressive behavior.
On June 14, Needham was arrested by Underground Police officers without incident
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