Homeless Man Pleads Not Guilty to Murder Charges in Chinatown Beating Deaths
The crime scene, Oct. 2019
The homeless man accused of bludgeoning to death four other homeless men on the Bowery last month returned to court Monday for the arraignment.
Investigators charged 24-year-old Randy Santos with four counts of murder, and one charge of attempted murder (one man survived the beating), for attacking his victims with a three-foot piece of scrap metal while they slept. Santos has been held in a psychiatric ward since the crime, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Santos is held without bail and reportedly returned to the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital after his court appearance.
The victims spanned generations, ranging in age from 39 to 83. Three were homeless, while the fourth was a Staten Island homeowner who may have fallen asleep while visiting his friends on the streets.
Recent Stories
An Art Show to Benefit the Educational Alliance
A new art exhibit to support the Educational Alliance and its Manny Cantor Center kicks off this weekend. Drawing inspiration from the recently-deposed Hester Street Fair, “CONTINUE TO BE” is a celebratory show welcoming the warmth and hope of springtime in the city, featuring both new and old work from local photographers who have documented life […]
Clayton’s Corner: Shine a Light on the Dark
Since the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, nights are especially dark on the streets of the Lower East Side. Fewer businesses, less activity, less overall light. In this latest installment of Clayton’s Corner, the neighborhood documentarian shines a light on the darkness.
City Officially Breaks Ground on $1.45B East Side Coastal Resiliency Project
After an initial delay, the contested $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency Project is set to break ground in the coming days. All against a backdrop of legal filings and vociferous community opposition. “Building a recovery for all of us means fighting climate change and investing in resilient communities,” Mayor de Blasio stated in a […]
The ‘Goodnight Moon’ House on Orchard Street
On lower Orchard Street, there was a telephone, and a landlord tycoon, and an art show depicting … Goodnight Moon. Hosted by Fort Makers, the new exhibit at 38 Orchard brings Margaret Wise Brown’s 1947 children’s book Goodnight Moon to life, via a three-dimensional installation. “Goodnight House” is the work of fourteen commissioned artists who […]
Grassroots Campaign Afoot to Remove Susan Stetzer from CB3 District Manager
Clearly, someone has a personal vendetta against Susan Stetzer, the longtime district manager of Community Board 3. Several wheat-paste posters surfaced on street surfaces around the neighborhood this week, demanding “Susan Stetzer out now” and to “clean up CB3.” The action appears part of a larger (anonymous) campaign to educate the neighborhood about the toxicity […]
