A second teenager is still being sought by police in the brutal assault

Aug 24, 2013 08:31 GMT  ·  By

An 88-year-old World War II veteran was severely beaten this week in Spokane, Washington, during a robbery attempt. The man succumbed to his wounds in the hospital.

Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy in the murder of Delbert "Shorty" Belton, NBC News reports. Teen Demetrius Glenn turned himself in on Thursday night and was charged on Friday.

Belton's remains were recovered from the Eagles lodge parking lot in North Spokane.

He was found critically injured in his car and he died on Thursday morning at Sacred Heart Medical Center. The medical examiner's office ruled the cause of death as severe blunt force trauma.

Police have identified the second teenager involved in the assault, Kenan D. Adams-Kinard. They have evidence in the form of CCTV footage shot during the Wednesday night incident. Spokane Police Chief Frank Straub dubs the killing random.

"These are two individuals who for whatever reason went out on a given night to rob someone. [...] They robbed him, they beat him and they killed him," he describes.

"It does appear random. He was in the parking lot, it appears he was assaulted in the parking lot and there was no indication that he would have known these people prior to the assault," Spokane Police Major Crimes Detective Lieutenant Mark Griffiths adds for KXLY.

The victim's daughter-in-law, Barbara Belton, detailed that the vet's face was badly bashed in during the brutal assault.

"That was no way to have to die. [...] They said even if he had survived, there probably would have been brain damage. It was horrendous," she recalls.

Asked how much cash her father-in-law carried on him, she responded that it would have not been more than $150 (€112).

"It is very, very infrequent in Spokane that we have a random act of violence," Straub notes.