A man is in custody after he allegedly entered a New Orleans hotel room and fatally struck an elderly Missouri man who was visiting the city with his wife, police said.
The 75-year-old man was found unconscious in a room Thursday night at the Avenue Plaza Hotel in the city’s Garden District neighborhood. He later died at an area hospital.
Martin Hurtado, 29, of New Orleans, faces a second-degree murder charge. Bail was set at $350,000 by Magistrate Commissioner Jay Daniels Friday. It was not known if Hurtado has an attorney who can speak on his behalf.
Police told multiple news outlets that they were called to the hotel after someone pulled a fire alarm around 11 p.m. and tried to enter a room on the sixth floor. The victim’s wife told police that when she saw an unknown man enter her bedroom, she ran to the bathroom and then saw the man punch her husband in the face, The Times-Picayune reported. / The New Orleans Advocate.
NEW ORLEANS BECOMES THE MURDER CAPITAL OF AMERICA, SURPASSING ST. LEWIS
At that point, she ran to get help, prosecutors said during Hurtado’s court appearance. When police arrived, officers found the victim on the floor of her bedroom. The victim’s wife was not physically injured.
A man has been arrested for fatally beating an elderly man at a New Orleans hotel. The 75-year-old man was found unconscious and taken to hospital where he later died.
The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will determine how the victim died and will release his name once the autopsy is complete.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The suspect had no connection to the victim or the hotel, police said. Anyone with information about the murder is encouraged to contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans or the police department’s homicide division.
