A former World Trade Center worker who left his job shortly before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was fatally beaten by three teenagers, including one who was only 12 years old on the night of the alleged crime, police say.
The victim, Roger Borkum, a 64‑year‑old Long Island native and widower, who was homeless at the time of his death, was discovered just before midnight on October 19 in downtown Jacksonville, according to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office obtained by First Coast News.
The report said the trio beat Borkum three times between 9:44 p.m. and 10:48 p.m. that night on Hogan Street, and were also spotted rummaging through his backpack.
After the second attack, a witness called Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, who found him unharmed and left. The three allegedly returned for a third assault, then fled, after which another witness called 911.
Borkum was found with severe head injuries and a pool of blood around him. A blood trail was seen extending down the sidewalk.
Borkum did not die at the scene but succumbed to his injuries four days later.
Within hours of the attack, authorities arrested suspects Justin Curry, now 13, Marcavion Lacey, 19, and Robert Pope, 17, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office press release issued Friday.
The suspects were indicted on murder charges on November 20.
One of the suspects reportedly told investigators the attack was triggered because Borkum had “dissed” their “dead homies.”
According to his obituary, Borkum “narrowly escaped death when a consulting job ended in late July 2001.” Working on the 77th floor of Tower 1 at the World Trade Center, Borkum was laid off just two months before the 9/11 attacks, which, at the time, may have spared his life.
Smith was a programmer, who built a consulting business for multinational companies, and later created a calendar app for Lotus Notes, the write-up said.
His wife, Celeste, whom he “cared deeply for,” died in 2009 during a humanitarian mission in Africa.
