Two women arrested for beating to death artist, 65, 'with brass knuckles' as he waited for a metro while running errands
- Tracy Gomez, 24, and Virginia Butler, 23, are facing murder charges in deadly June 13 attack
- John Wayne Whitmore, an artist from LA, died from blunt-force trauma to the head after being struck with brass knuckles on train platform
Innocent bystander: John Wayne Whitmore, 65, was waiting for a train in Los Angeles in June when he was attacked by two women, who beat him with brass knuckles and left him for dead
Two California women have been arrested in the beating death of a 65-year-old man at a train station in Los Angeles two months ago.
The suspects in the vicious killing of John Wayne Whitmore have been identified by the Los Angeles County Sherif's Department as Tracy Gomez, 24, and Virginia Butler, 23.
Gomez, from Hawthorne, was taken into custody last Sunday and was ordered held on $1,061,000 bail.
Butler was arrested Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She is being jailed on $1million bail.
The two women are facing murder charges in connection to the attack on Mr Whitmore, an artist from Los Angeles who was savagely beaten while standing on a platform at the Willowbrook Metro station June 13, reported KTLA.
On Thursday, Ms Gomez pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder. Her alleged accomplice is expected to be arraigned Friday.
According to police, the brutal attack unfolded on June 13 while John Whitmore was waiting for a Blue Line train. It was witnessed by dozens of people, who reportedly did nothing to help the victim.
Investigators said Gomez and Butler approached the 65-year-old bystander and began arguing with him.
Case closed: Sheriff's officials in Los Angeles apprehended Tracy Gomez and Virginia Butler, pictured in stills from a surveillance footage, in connection to the beating death
The verbal dispute quickly escalated and turned physical, with the 24-year-old Gomez allegedly using brass knuckles to beat up the stranger without any provocation.
After Whitmore collapsed on the platform, the two women blended with the crowd and vanished.
Police released a surveillance video and still photos hoping the public could help them identify and locate the culprits.
A $10,000 reward was also announced for information leading to the attackers.
Investigators asked for the public's help and offered a $10,000 reward to help find the perpetrators
Mr Whitmore passed away from blunt-force trauma to the head 10 days later at St. Francis Hospital.
‘He was a talented artist who was merely running his errands,’ stated a sheriff’s department press release.
A criminal complaint filed against Tracy Gomez revealed that the woman was convicted of second-degree robbery in 2009.
She could face life in prison if convicted in John Whitmore’s beating death.
- French hostage captured by Algerian militants linked to ISIS
- Syrian woman secretly films life in Raqqa under ISIS
- Obama salutes Marines with coffee cup in hand
- Watch this clip as cheeky Vietjet staff dress down for...
- #Bendgate iPhone 6 bends after being kept in front pocket
- Fisherman catches bald eagle and let's him dry on his boat
- Tiger kills man who climbed into enclosure in New Delhi
- Unknown creature seen in Chicago river believed to be a...
- Incredible footage of a childs non-verbal connection with a...
- F*** it I quit, news reporter quits live on air
- Puppy Power! Dog delivers lost items for Amsterdam Airport
- Golfer breaks all his clubs in epic meltdown
- Obama's tea cup salute tempest: Commander-in-chief sparks...
- Think Again! US tweets photos of four DEAD ISIS jihadis as...
- ISIS-linked militants behead French hostage within minutes...
- Kevin Ward Jr's family declares his case 'is not at rest'...
- Chief of $2 trillion investment firm PIMCO decided to quit...
- Nursing assistant accused of abducting missing Virginia...
- Living under the ISIS terror: Woman reveals crushing...
- Nurse who was caught sexually abusing brain dead patient...
- Police chief's daughter, 24, and two men charged 'for...
- 'We've killed world's most wanted terrorist': American...
- 'Drunk' man mauled to death by white tiger after leaping...
- Terrifying photo reveals the moment woman climbed onto her...