A 17-year-old St. Louis man has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the bludgeoning death of a Bosnian immigrant.
Police say Robert Mitchell along with two other teens, both juveniles, attacked the 32-year-old man with hammers early Sunday. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
A police spokeswoman said investigators do not believe race played a role in the bludgeoning death of a Bosnian immigrant early Sunday, but declined to say what authorities believe is the motive in the killing.
Many at the scene of the murder near Gravois Avenue and Itaska Street speculated that the four men who beat Zemir Begic, 32, to death with hammers targeted him because of his Bosnian descent.
But detectives do not believe Begic’s Bosnian heritage or the color of his skin served as a motive in any way, police spokeswoman Schron Jackson said.
Witnesses told police that the victim and the suspect exchanged some words as Begic was walking past them on the way to his car, Jackson said.
Someone then hit Begic’s car with something or kicked it, and Begic stopped his car, got out and exchanged words with the suspects once more. That’s when he was attacked, Jackson said. “We think it was wrong place, wrong time,” Jackson said.
Homicide detectives do not believe the suspects took anything from the victim during the attack.
Jackson said Chief Sam Dotson noted that none of the suspects appear to have anything in their criminal backgrounds to suggest they would do something of this magnitude.
Dotson said more than one hammer was used in the killing, but he would not say how many.
Police have three of the four suspects in custody. Detectives believe they know who the fourth is, but have not yet made an arrest, Jackson said.
Police arrested two suspects, ages 15 and 16 Sunday. One is Hispanic and the other is black, according to police. Mitchell turned himself into police Sunday night.
(Source: stltoday/ photo oslobodjenje)
