What to Know
- Clifton Moore, 30, was indicted by a grand jury for the fatal beating of 54-year-old Joshua Rivera at a Charlestown, Massachusetts park.
- Rivera, who officials said was homeless, was sleeping on a park bench when he was beaten with an object.
- Moore was arrested for a separate assault in which he allegedly beat a woman with a bat in Somerville.
The suspect charged with beating a sleeping homeless man to death at a Charlestown, Massachusetts park is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
Clifton Moore, 30, was charged with first-degree murder for the Sept. 6 attack that killed 54-year-old Joshua Rivera. Rivera suffered numerous blunt force injuries to his head as he was sleeping on a bench at Ryan Playground, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
Witnesses reported a man in a gray hooded sweatshirt wielding a long item, which they believed was a bat or stick. They told authorities the man, whose build is consistent with that of Moore's, was repeatedly striking what they thought was an empty park bench. After the assailant fled the scene, witnesses discovered Rivera’s body and called 911.
The victim died at the scene, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Surveillance footage from MBTA public safety cameras captured a man matching witnesses’ description of the assailant. He was carrying a backpack and baseball bat prior to the attack and was seen leaving the park about a minute and a half later.
Moore was arrested a month after Rivera’s death for allegedly assaulting a woman with a baseball bat in Somerville, according to the District Attorney's office.
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He was indicted by a grand jury for the murder charge on Dec. 18. The suspect was already in custody for the Somerville assault, officials said.
Moore is expected to be arraigned at Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday. It is unclear if he has an attorney.
