Melbourne, FL (February 12, 2019) – Police have arrested and charged a man with murdering his sister after the two became involved in an argument, according to Melbourne Police.
The suspect, 59-year-old Larry Acosta, was homeless when his sister took him into her home at the Paradise Cay Apartments on Post Road. Acosta claimed that he went to the store and, when he came home, his sister’s apartment door was wide open and she was on the floor. The victim was identified as 60-year-old Virginia Richardson.
Police claimed that the story did not add up because Acosta alleged that he found his sister and made the 911 call, but he acted in an aggressive, combative manner and started assaulting law enforcement officers at the scene.
Witnesses came forward and told police that they heard Acosta engaged in an altercation with his sister right before her death. Richardson had been beaten unconscious and left on the floor. She was later taken to the hospital where she tragically passed away.
Acosta has since been charged with second-degree murder in connection to the beating, as well as assault of a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and resisting an officer without violence. He is being held at Brevard County Jail without bail.
Melbourne Second-Degree Murder Laws
Second-degree murder charges
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