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Charges have been upgraded to murder against a man who attacked a 68-year-old West Valley City man in January with a hammer and a knife.
Gerardo Enrique Perez, 19, was initially charged with attempted murder for the Jan. 28 assault against Leslie Beus outside a residence near 5600 West and 4835 South.
But after languishing in a coma for nearly a month, Beus died on Feb. 4.
Prosecutors responded Monday by amending the attempted murder charge to first-degree felony murder.
Perez also is charged with first-degree felony aggravated burglary, second-degree felony obstructing justice, three counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault and one count of class B misdemeanor interference with arresting officer.
Beus — who suffered numerous cuts to his head and arms, as well as numerous skull fractures, including a two-inch depression in his head — had been on life support since the attack.
A bail hearing for Perez is scheduled for March 9 in 3rd District Court. Meanwhile, he was being held at the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $1.5 million cash-only bail.
In charging documents, witnesses described Perez as "behaving strangely" and "making noises like a zombie" while walking down the street at about 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 28.
Beus came out of his house into the front yard, just as Perez approached, according to police.
Beus's 15-year-old granddaughter told police that she heard a scream, looked outside and saw a man hitting Beus in the head with a knife in one hand and a hammer in the other.
Beus tried to escape by entering his home, but Perez followed him inside and continued to hit Beus while saying, "I'm going to kill you," charges state.
Perez ran east from Beus' home for about a block, still carrying the knife and hammer, where he had a verbal confrontation with a person who confronted Perez with a gun.
Perez ran north, but witnesses reported seeing him enter the back yard of a home near 5600 West and 4500 South, where he rents a portion of the basement, according to police, who arrested him at the residence.
Officers who entered the residence saw a hammer and knife on a couch, and found Perez laying face-down on a bed with his hands under a pillow. When Perez refused to show his hands, the officers deployed a Taser and pepper spray, charges state, but Perez tried to push away from the officers until he was handcuffed.
Perez later told police that when he saw a man and a 16-year-old boy in the neighborhood, "he was going to kill them but they ran into a house," charges state.
Perez said he then saw Beus and attacked him. Perez also admitted wiping blood off the hammer to avoid detection, charges state.