Cameras show 2 suspects push Marine between train cars, killing him, prosecutors say
04/11/2020 11:27 am PDT
via WGN:
CHICAGO (WGN) -- A judge ordered an 18-year-old suspect held without bond Sunday as he faces murder charges in the death of a former Marine at a downtown Red Line station last week.
Ryan Munn is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 29-year-old former Marine Mamadou Balde.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office alleges 18-year-old Ryan Munn and another unnamed suspect pushed 29-year-old former Marine Mamadou Balde toward a Red Line train as it departed the Jackson station Tuesday, saying Balde was killed after falling in between the cars.
The entire incident was captured on surveillance cameras at the station, and prosecutors detailed their case in court documents released Sunday. Attorneys say Balde appeared to be intoxicated as he approached people at the Jackson Red Line station Tuesday evening. Eventually, he walked up to Munn and the other suspect as they were hanging out at the station, engaging them in a brief conversation before walking away.
Balde appeared to “jokingly putting up his dukes to fight,” according to prosecutors, as he was smiling while putting his fists up to his chin before dropping them. The unnamed suspect reportedly began punching Balde and pushing him backwards, and prosecutors say Munn joined in to help his friend. The train began moving as the two punched and pushed Balde, and he fell back in between two train cars.
Balde was dragged along the platform until he slammed his head and torso into a metal partition and fell down to the tracks. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, he died of blunt-force injuries.
Munn later signed a statement acknowledging his role in the incident, but said “he was only trying to hurt [Balde] and push him onto the ground, but [Balde] fell into the train instead.”
MORE: Prosecutors: Man killed by Red Line train was pushed between cars; suspect held without bond - WGN