Elex Murphy

ST. LOUIS • A man beaten to death this weekend on the city’s south side was reportedly the victim of a game involving “unprovoked attacks on innocent bystanders.”
The alderman representing the Dutchtown West neighborhood where Hoang D. Nguyen, 72, was fatally beaten said police have said the attackers were part of a group targeting people across the city.
On Wednesday, Elex Levell Murphy, 18, of the 5400 block of Geraldine Avenue, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree assault and two counts of armed criminal action in the attack on Nguyen and his wife, Yen, according to court records. A judge has ordered him held without bail.

Yen Nguyen told authorities that Murphy walked up to her husband, grabbed his jacket and punched him in the head, causing him to fall to the ground, court records say. Murphy then punched Yen Nguyen in the eye, causing severe bruises and an eye socket fracture. A second man kicked Hoang Nguyen in the abdomen, injuring his ribs.
Hoang Nguyen died later Saturday of his injuries at St. Louis University Hospital.

Police records show that Murphy was arrested twice this month on suspicion of larceny and trespassing. Prosecutors have not yet filed charges in either case.
Murphy was released from City Jail on April 14, two days before the Nguyens were attacked.

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