A 91-year-old Detroit man might have been forced to drink gasoline before he was beaten and burned to death in his house, says an assistant Wayne County medical examiner during a hearing.
Officers and firefighters discovered Paul Monchnik‘s body when witnesses reported the blaze at the retired TV repairman’s Bentler Court home around 3 a.m.
The victim was discovered with severe burns all over his body and a head injury. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. It is alleged that Stewart fatally assaulted Monchnik, and set his house on fire.
According to police, Monchnik was beaten during a robbery inside his home. To cover up the crime, police said the suspect went to a nearby gas station before returning to Monchnik’s home with a gas can and setting it on fire.
According to the Autopsy report, Monchnik was found with a fifth of a cup of a by-product of an accelerant similar to gasoline in his autopsy, says Dr. Kilak Kesha. He said the teen suspect may have forced Monchnik to consume it.
“It would have to come through the mouth,” Kesha testified in 36th District Court. “The victim could have drank it or (had it put into his open mouth while he was unconscious).”
A female family member of the 91-year-old victim gasped while listening to the explicit details of Monchnik’s murder. Judge Kenneth King said it was heartbreaking that Monchick, who chose to live out his old age in Detroit, was murdered in such a violent and cruel manner.
George Steward, a 17-year-old neighbor of Monchnik, was charged with felony murder and arson in the case, a Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson said.
Police said Steward entered the home of Monchnik, a retired TV repairman, in the early morning before assaulting him.
“The word ‘heinous’ does not even begin to describe this crime,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement.
Monchnik, a widower, is a father of three who lived in the house for 65 years.
“These neighbors, actually, have been helping my dad for years. So I’m really having a hard time getting my head around the idea that someone from their family was involved,” the victim’s son Scott Monchnik said.
Police released surveillance footage of the suspect buying gasoline before the fire. Steward was arrested the following day.
Steward was charged with felony murder, first-degree premeditated murder, and burning a dwelling.
He faces a possible mandatory minimum sentence of life behind bars.
Watch the video report here: ClickOnDetroit/Youtube
Source: AWM