COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — An Austin man beat his mother's fiancé to death in front of two young relatives who were trying to watch cartoons, prosecutors said Friday.
Dwayne Jones, 20, had accused his mother's fiancé Terrell Peterson, 42, of stealing his wallet moments before the beating, prosecutors said. The men got into a physical fight, but Peterson eventually said "I quit, I quit" as Jones continued to pummel him, a witness told police.
Peterson's 8-year-old son, who shares a mother with Jones, was in the room trying to watch TV when the fatal attack transpired, prosecutors said. Also present was Jones' mother's 9-year-old granddaughter.
After the attack, Jones stole one of the children's bicycles and rode away, according to prosecutors.
The fight began around 7 a.m. Wednesday in the 800 block of North Central Avenue, police and prosecutors said.
Peterson, Jones' mother and the two children were in Jones' mother's bedroom. As the kids lie in bed watching cartoons, Jones walked into the room and accused Peterson of stealing his wallet, prosecutors said.
Jones patted down Peterson, and the two got into a physical fight, toppling onto the bed, according to authorities.
Jones' mother tried to get the children out of the bedroom before calling 911, but both children witnessed Jones striking and choking Peterson, prosecutors said. Jones eventually stopped, and allegedly told his mom he had knocked out Peterson.
By the time police arrived, Peterson was already dead. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said Peterson died of asphyxiation caused by strangulation and multiple blunt force injuries.
Jones' mother told police her son might try to flee to Wisconsin because his father lives there, prosecutors said. Officers arrested Jones about three hours after the attack at a Greyhound bus station Downtown.
Jones later admitted that he believed Peterson took his wallet, got into a fight with the man and "choked him out," prosecutors said.
Jones, who lives in the home where the attack occurred, has no criminal background. He is charged with first-degree murder.
Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil on Friday ordered Jones held in lieu of $2 million bail.
