A 73-year-old cab driver who was assaulted in Hampden while returning home from work in April has died, police said.
John Russell Sandy, of the 800 block of W. 35th St., had gotten off work and was walking home in the 3500 block of Elm Ave. on April 18 when he was repeatedly struck from behind with a tire iron, according to court records. Officers responded at about 4 a.m. and saw him lying in the street, suffering from a fractured skull, multiple broken bones to his left hand and bruises covering most of his body.
Sandy was taken to Sinai Hospital in critical condition. He was pronounced dead Tuesday morning at Johns Hopkins Bayview, and the medical examiner ruled that his death was the result of complications from his injuries, police said.
Police said a suspect, 29-year-old Bobby Wisner, was charged in June with attempted first-degree murder. According to charging documents, Sandy identified his attacker as "Bobby," who he said was the brother of a man who lived with him. He slipped into a coma, but eventually woke up and identified Wisner from a photo lineup.
The charges against Wisner, who is being held without bond, will likely be upgraded. A motive for the attack was not disclosed in court records.
On what appears to be Wisner's MySpace page, Wisner, of the 800 block of W. 35th St., described himself as a sheet metal foreman and father of three who was "restarting my life and trying to do things right this time." After being charged in connection with the attack on Sandy, Wisner was also charged over the next three days with two other assaults, according to court records.
He has a record of multiple assault and robbery charges in the city and Baltimore County but has only one conviction, receiving a 10-year-sentence with seven years suspended in 1999.
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