5 juveniles charged with murder in connection with homeless assault victim’s death
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (TCN) — Five teens are facing second-degree murder charges in connection with an April assault on a homeless man. They had previously been charged with attempted second-degree murder, but the charges have been upgraded following the victim’s death, authorities say.
On May 6, the Binghamton Police Department announcedthat Peter Bennedum, 45, was assaulted April 27 by five juvenile suspects and taken to the hospital for treatment. The suspects were then charged with attempted second-degree murder. On May 5, Bennedum died from his injuries. The following day, an autopsy was conducted and the death began being treated as a homicide.
The names of the juvenile suspects have not been released and they are currently being housed at a juvenile detention facility, per the police department. Syracuse.com reports that two of the suspects are 15 years old, two are 14 years old, and one is 13 years old.
An investigation found the assault was inspired by a social media trend of beating homeless people or those with addiction, recording the assaults, then sharing the incidents on social media, WICZ reports.
WNBF News Radio reports, “Peter Bennedum was unhoused at the time of the assault, but let’s stop right there for a second because sometimes society gets dangerously numb when people are described that way. He was still a human being. Someone knew him. Someone loved him. Someone is now in the midst of the unimaginable reality of never seeing him again. What happened to this man was cruel, violent, and completely reprehensible. And I don’t care how young someone is, there has to be accountability when another human being loses their life this way.”
The investigation is ongoing.
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