Advertisement

Man fatally beaten on N.J. Turnpike

MOORESTOWN, N.J., March 15 (UPI) -- A Texas man was charged with beating an elderly man to death at a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop, allegedly because the man refused to buy religious CDs.

Brian White was arrested after a long chase that began in southern New Jersey and ended at the northern end of the New Jersey Turnpike, the Newark Star-Ledger reported.

Advertisement

White, of Humble, Texas, allegedly encountered Michail Makarenko, 75, of Hillsboro, Va., in the parking lot at a turnpike rest area near Philadelphia. When Makarenko refused to buy his religious recordings, White went into a rage, picked up a rock and hit the Russian immigrant on the head, state police said.

A witness who saw White driving off in a 1984 Camaro followed him to the turnpike and called police on his cell phone with a description of the car. Police located the Camaro and pursued White for 80 miles, sometimes at speeds in excess of 80 mph.

Troopers said White jumped from his moving car and charged them in Teaneck, N.J.

Latest Headlines