Two teenagers have been charged in connection with the killing of a 73-year-old Marine veteran who was beaten to death during an attempted carjacking in Hyde Park.
Keith Cooper was running some errands Wednesday afternoon when he was approached by two men in a small shopping plaza in the 5300 Block of South Kimbark Avenue, Chicago police said.
The men demanded his Hyundai SUV and punched him in the head, according to police. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he died. Fire officials said he suffered cardiac arrest after he was attacked.
Frank Harris, 18, was charged with one felony count each of murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking, police announced Thursday.
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A 17-year-old boy, who was not named due to his age, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted aggravated battery to a person over 60.
Cooper served in the Marines and did two tours in Vietnam. He loved jazz, Star Trek and horror movies.
He was also an avid reader, the type of person who would read back labels, according to his daughter Keinika Carlton. He would regularly send his daughter emails or texts with links to articles he’d seen online about different topics. “I’ll miss getting those.”
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Carlton said she will remember her father for “his love, his support, his smile, him coming over for no reason.”
Harris and the 17-year-old boy are scheduled to appear in court Friday.
