TULSA - Tulsa Homicide has arrested a 40-year-old man in connection to the beating and stabbing of a homeless man downtown.
Derrick Mathes was taken into custody after several witnesses identified him as the man involved in the killing in the 300 block of N. Denver, according to a report by authorities.
According to the report, on Friday, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office made a call to Tulsa Police at around 7:45 a.m. that a deputy was searching behind the Tulsa County Jail for a body along the trail north of David L Moss. Police responded after the deputy discovered the body of a 40-year-old male. The man had been beaten and received trauma to the entire body, officers say.
Witnesses say the man lived up under the bridge near the bike trail along with several other homeless people.
The victim has been identified but his name has not been released because it has been difficult to reach relatives who live out of state, according to the report.
Police say they were able to interview several of the homeless people around where the body was found and established that the victim was in a fight with another man at about 11 p.m. on Thursday during the rain storm.
We were able to identify the person the victim was fighting and located that individual in the woods by the river at New Block Park. This individual had multiple wounds on his body and he admitted to fighting the victim, but denied killing him.
Multiple witnesses told police Mathes intervened in the fight and stabbed the victim multiple times.
Officers say Mathes admitted to being present but denied having any part in fighting with the victim. He was arrested on a first degree murder charge.
This is Tulsa’s 39th murder for 2017. Last year a record 81 homicides were committed.
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