Two American teens will face trial on an additional charge for the murder of a 41-year old Kenyan man in Des Moines, Iowa.
The two, Terrene Cheeks Jr (21) and Leshaun Murray (20) have already been convicted for first degree robbery but they will battle a new murder charge for allegedly murdering Mike Wasike, a Kenyan man living in the US.
Wasike moved to the US in 2009 to join his wife and children. He worked as a credit analyst at Wells Fargo.
According to Nairobi News, Cheeks, Murray and a third person-Kenneth Barry, are reportedly said to have pulled Wasike out of his vehicle and beat him up before they robbed him and fled.
Wasike passed on in January this year after succumbing to the injuries from the attack in 2013.
He was left with permanent brain damage from the beating and was also paralyzed. He could not talk or feed either.
Both Cheeks and Murray are serving a 50-year sentence each while Barry, whose gun was used to attack Wasike was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Cheeks, the father to Cheeks Jr told a local news channel that he feared the worst for his son after the addition first degree murder charge on top of the first degree robbery charge which the teen was convicted for.
“I don’t condone anything that happened, but I just thought that his involvement should have resulted in a lesser sentence than what the other two received,” said his father.
He added that his son who was at the time of the incident only 15 years, had the least involvement in the assault of the deceased Kenyan man.
According to Polk County Attorney’s Office, if the two teens are convicted of the murder charge, they face life in prison but with possibility of parole.