THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996 TAG: 9604250469
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
A man who was severely beaten Monday morning died Wednesday, prompting police to upgrade charges against three Norfolk teenagers to murder, police spokesman Larry Hill said.
The attack took place about 5:50 a.m. in the 4800 block of Pleasant Ave. The victim, Ben Frazier, 33, was severely beaten with a blunt object by three suspects apparently during an argument, police said.
Frazier, of the 7800 block of Azalea Garden Road, suffered massive head and body injuries and was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he died Wednesday morning at 4:40 a.m.
Three suspects ran from the scene but later were located in the 4900 block of Pretty Lake Ave., police said.
They were charged with aggravated assault Monday. Hill said those charges were upgraded to murder Wednesday.
Arrested were a 16-year-old from the 800 block of Denison Ave., a 16-year-old from the 4600 block of East Ocean View Ave. and a 17-year-old from the 4900 block of Pretty Lake Ave. The suspects weren't identified because of their ages.
Hill did not say what the argument was about. According to police, Frazier and the suspects were briefly acquainted.
It's the second time within a week several Norfolk teenagers have been charged with murder.
On April 18, three teens were arrested in connection with the death of Clarence Carter, whose burned remains were found nearly a year ago in a lot on Maltby Avenue.
Arrested in that case were a 17-year-old who already was in custody, a 16-year-old from the 800 block of W. 38th St. and a 16-year-old from the 700 block of Maltby Ave. A 17-year-old Norfolk youth, of the 1000 block of W. 42nd St., was arrested a month after the slaying.
KEYWORDS: MURDER JUVENILE CRIMINAL by CNB