14-Year-Old Charged With Murder After 73-Year-Old Man Was Beaten to Death With Traffic Cone

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with murder following his participation in the fatal beating of 73-year-old man James Lambert in Philadelphia last month.

Per NBC Philadelphia, the boy and his 10-year-old brother turned themselves in to the police on Monday, not long after surveillance video showed the violent attack on Lambert with a traffic cone. Following the incident, Lambert died from his injuries. Last week, a citywide search was launched to find the minors who participated in the attack after Philly police shared the video and announced a $20,000 reward for further information.

According to police, Lambert was attacked by a group of minors, three girls and four boys, during the early hours of the morning. Sources said that he walked past a basketball court and asked the teens why they were still outside after 2 a.m., which prompted them to attack him with food, punches, and a traffic cone. “It’s so evil, how could you do that to a person,” said Elsie Stephens, the older sister of Lambert. “You have a mother and a father, how could you just beat a man until you take off half of his skull.”

As the police detailed, the teens struck him several times and knocked him to the ground, causing severe head injuries. “The victim was transported to the hospital where he died of his injuries the following day,” the police statement read. After attacking the man, the young individuals left the scene before some of them regrouped later. 

Per FOX 29, the two brothers have already confessed the crime, and the 10-year-old has since been released and was not charged. Juveniles must be charged as adults for murder under Pennsylvania law.