A 16-year-old Minnesota boy has been charged after police say he deliberately hit and killed a 70-year-old pedestrian while he was allegedly listening to a song about murder.
Israel Muyaya Madimba was charged with first-degree murder and second-degree murder in connection with the fatal April 21 attack in St. Cloud, about 65 miles northwest of Minneapolis, the Stearns County Attorney’s Office announced.
St. Cloud police officers responded to a call from a car hitting a pedestrian just after 8 p.m. and found the 70-year-old man unconscious, police said in a statement. press release.
Lifesaving measures were taken on the victim, identified as Norbert John Olmscheid of St. Cloud. He was taken to a hospital, where he died of his injuries, police said.
Olmscheid had been “walking on a hiking trail before being hit by a vehicle driven by a 16-year-old man from Sauk Rapids,” police said.
The driver took off, but was later apprehended.
An investigation revealed that Madimba allegedly stole a vehicle from the St. Cloud YMCA blocks away from the crash site and shortly after saw the victim on the walkway between 9th Avenue and 6th Avenue North, authorities said.
The suspect “admitted riding on the hiking trail and intentionally hitting the victim,” police said.
The indictment revealed that the suspect had told officers that he drove up the sidewalk and accelerated behind the victim.
“The defendant admitted listening to a song about murder and then punching the unsuspecting victim,” the indictment said.
His story was corroborated by witnesses, the filing said. An exact motive is still under investigation, officials said.
Madimba was transferred to Stearns County Jail and later transferred to a juvenile detention center.
Madimba appeared in district court Monday after being charged with first-degree murder and first-degree murder, the Stearns County Attorney said.
He was ordered to be held on $2 million unconditional or $1 million conditional bail. The judge also ordered him to undergo an aptitude test.
It is not immediately clear whether Madimba has a lawyer.
First-degree murder carries a life sentence, the state attorney’s office said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
