A man charged with assaulting an elderly man in Prince George’s County, Maryland, was charged with murder on Thursday.
Julias Wright, 25, of Fort Washington, was initially charged with first- and second-degree assault along with reckless endangerment of Johnny Lee Shepard, 87, of Beltsville, who died from his injuries on July 28.
The medical examiner determined Shepard’s cause of death was a result of blunt force head trauma, and his death was ruled a homicide.
According to Prince George’s County police, officers were informed about an assault in a residential parking lot in the 11300 block of Cherry Hill Road on June 2 at around 7:30 p.m.
In their initial investigation, police revealed Christina Felder, 44, of Beltsville, accused Shepard of damaging her car door in the parking lot. Then, she called Wright, who is in a relationship with her.
A surveillance video showed Wright punching and stomping Shepard numerous times.
Wright and Felder were charged with first- and second-degree assault as well as the solicitation of assault in the second degree after police arrested them inside a hotel in Howard County.