US man found guilty of beating 4 to death in Chinatown, including HK migrant

A man who fatally beat four sleeping men on the streets of New York’s Chinatown was convicted of first-degree murder on Thursday, with a jury rejecting his insanity defence in the 2019 rampage.

Randy Santos’ lawyers had conceded that he pummelled the defenceless victims – Chuen Kok, Anthony Manson, Florencio Moran and Nazario Vasquez Villegas – with a metal bar and meant to kill them.

But Santos’ lawyers contended that he was too mentally ill to be held criminally responsible. They said he was driven by schizophrenic delusions that made him believe he had to kill 40 people or would die himself.

Prosecutors countered that Santos took steps, such as sometimes looking out for potential witnesses, and subsequently made remarks that showed that he knew the attacks were both illegal and immoral.

The Dominican-born Santos, 31, showed no reaction as he heard the verdict, through headphones, via a Spanish-language interpreter.

The killings spurred scrutiny of the city’s struggles to aid and protect a homeless population that had reached a record size. Santos was homeless, as were some of the victims.