The man who allegedly attacked two elderly men at a bus stop downtown now faces a murder charge after police said one of the men died of his injuries.
A Multnomah County grand jury on Thursday indicted Keffer James White, 29, on charges of second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault in the case.
White was arrested after witnesses said he punched and kicked Donald Pierce, 82, and Edward Lichtenstein, 88, at a bus stop near the Portland State University campus by Southwest Fifth Avenue and Hall Street on June 27. Pierce died last Thursday of blunt force trauma, police said.
Pierce was a professor at Oregon State University for 30 years. Lichtenstein has been treated and released from the hospital, police said.
White has a history of felony convictions in Oregon, including unauthorized use of a vehicle, being a felon in possession of a firearm and strangulation. He is currently being held in Multnomah County Detention Center without bail.
-Zaeem Shaikh; mshaikh@oregonian.com; 503-221-8111; @zaeemshake