LA - David Sorenson, 73, MO tourist beaten to death by stranger in New Orleans hotel attack. 01 Dec 2022. Wife hid during attack. Man arrested.

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vls12345

vls12345

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The stories seem to have slightly differing info. Perhaps that will change as more info comes out.

www.nola.com

Missouri man beaten to death in St. Charles Avenue hotel is identified

The 73-year-old victim was visiting New Orleans with his wife.
www.nola.com www.nola.com

currently.att.yahoo.com

Tourist dies after attack in New Orleans hotel room as wife hides in bathroom, cops say

The beloved husband and grandfather was visiting from Missouri with his wife, officials said.
currently.att.yahoo.com currently.att.yahoo.com

From the latter article:
An affidavit for Hurtado’s arrest said security footage showed the suspect on the sixth floor of the hotel knocking on every door and roaming the halls, WWL reported. As Hurtado moved about the floor, someone pulled a fire alarm.

At the sound of the fire alarm, Sorenson’s wife, who was asleep in the couple’s room, got up to open the door, the affidavit said, according to WWL. That’s when Hurtado burst into the room and began attacking Sorenson.
Click to expand...
 
www.nola.com

Tourist beaten to death in St. Charles Avenue hotel loved the blues and New Orleans

David Sorenson, 73, was a father, a musician, lover of Mardi Gras and an integral part of the St. Louis-area blues scene.
www.nola.com www.nola.com

"Three days after the launch of a brutal murder investigation, the New Orleans coroner released the identity of a tourist beaten to death by an intruder in his Lower Garden District hotel room while his wife of more than 50 years looked on.

David Sorenson, 73, was a fixture of the St. Louis blues scene who loved New Orleans, friends said Monday. They described the retired financial advisor as a huge music lover with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things blues who played an integral part in the creation of the Washmo Blues Society and spearheaded fundraising efforts for the Killer Blues Headstone project, which provides headstones for blues musicians in unmarked graves.

"He knew blues history like nobody's business," said Mike Edsel, vice president of the Washmo Blues Society.


On Thursday night, Sorenson was beaten to death in his hotel room in the 2100 block of St. Charles Avenue while his wife Barbara took refuge in the bathroom before fleeing to summon help. New Orleans police apprehended Martin Hurtado, 29, on the scene and booked him on second-degree murder. Bail is set at $350,000.

Sorenson, an avid supporter of live music, was known to contribute a riff or two on the harmonica and served as a judge for the International Blues Competition in Memphis. He had four children and traveled the country with his wife, friends said."
 
The description of the suspect from the article I linked above is interesting:

"Hank Clites said Hutardo moved next door to him in Slidell from California about three years ago. He resided with his aunt and uncle, who own Tacos & Beer.

"He was a well-kept kid, polite. I'm flabbergasted with what happened," Clites said. "He doesn't fit the mold."

Wonder if he was drugged (unintentionally OR intentionally)? Alternatively, did he have preexisting mental health issues? Or could this seemingly random crime have been planned?
 
www.ksdk.com

'He was just such a good man': Longtime neighbor and friend remembers Wildwood man beaten to death

Police say 73-year-old David Sorenson was killed by 29-year-old Martin Hurtado at the Avenue Plaza hotel in New Orleans.
www.ksdk.com www.ksdk.com

"According to Kirberg, Sorenson and his wife, Barb, had a timeshare at the Avenue Plaza and were in the room they stay in every year when Sorenson was killed.
An affidavit for Hurtado's arrest gives more detail about what led up to the horrific and random act of violence.
Hurtado told police he went to the hotel after working his shift at a restaurant about five blocks away.
Somebody pulled a fire alarm while Hurtado was roaming the halls of the hotel.
Sorenson's wife told police that the alarm woke her up and then she heard knocking at their door.

"Barb thought that security was at the door saying, 'Let's go down,' and when she opened it up, he forced himself in, pushed her back and she ran out," Kirberg said."

I find it interesting that the Sorensons had a timeshare at this hotel AND stayed in this room every single year--so I'm wondering, was this crime really as random as it seems?

The bolded part of the quote: most of the other press coverage states that the wife locked herself in the bathroom, but this one says she was pushed outside the room. So, as @vls12345 stated, at least some of the accounts of what occurred are still at odds.
 
"Things can't keep going like this. It's no different than St. Louis or Memphis," Edsel said. "The city of New Orleans is pissed, and they need to be."

Since he is by reputation a "well-kept kid, polite" I'm going with a mixture of beer (see article - his job where he was drinking probably free beer is a 7-minute walk to the hotel) and drugs (perhaps obtained from a dealer at the St Charles at Josephine Tram stop) brought out the inner-beast looking to hurt someone, anyone. And he just sort of adrenaline-punched a 72-year old man to death. Not hard to do when you're 29.
 
realanastasia said:
www.ksdk.com

'He was just such a good man': Longtime neighbor and friend remembers Wildwood man beaten to death

Police say 73-year-old David Sorenson was killed by 29-year-old Martin Hurtado at the Avenue Plaza hotel in New Orleans.
www.ksdk.com www.ksdk.com

"According to Kirberg, Sorenson and his wife, Barb, had a timeshare at the Avenue Plaza and were in the room they stay in every year when Sorenson was killed.
An affidavit for Hurtado's arrest gives more detail about what led up to the horrific and random act of violence.
Hurtado told police he went to the hotel after working his shift at a restaurant about five blocks away.
Somebody pulled a fire alarm while Hurtado was roaming the halls of the hotel.
Sorenson's wife told police that the alarm woke her up and then she heard knocking at their door.

"Barb thought that security was at the door saying, 'Let's go down,' and when she opened it up, he forced himself in, pushed her back and she ran out," Kirberg said."

I find it interesting that the Sorensons had a timeshare at this hotel AND stayed in this room every single year--so I'm wondering, was this crime really as random as it seems?

The bolded part of the quote: most of the other press coverage states that the wife locked herself in the bathroom, but this one says she was pushed outside the room. So, as @vls12345 stated, at least some of the accounts of what occurred are still at odds.
Click to expand...
Total speculation, but if the attacker “pushed her back” into the room, she could have backed into the bathroom and locked it, he went into the main room and engaged with the victim, and she subsequently ran out for help when she had a chance.

I don’t know about this timeshare, but many hotel rooms have a bathroom right by the door and he could have pushed past her into the room when she opened the door. Then (locked in the bathroom), she would be closer to the door later to run out and escape, maybe when she heard her husband being attacked. I don’t think the two descriptions necessarily are conflicting. She isn’t the one telling it first-person. Just imo.
 
Spyralflare said:
Wonder if someone put some drug in the killer’s drink that night? He claims to remember nothing after having a beer at work.
Click to expand...
He had been going through the halls knocking on doors. When the wife let him in he said something to the effect of (Don't tell anyone I'm here) paraphrasing.
So it's fair to say that he was in some type of altered state. Could be alcohol with an untreated mental health issue?
He must have received some medical treatment for his cut so they prob did a drug test.
JUst terrible.
 
cvaldez1975 said:
seems to be the POI

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Good find. He looks like such a nice kid in the fb photo. Much different than the monster in the mug shot. I'm going with manic depressive or bipolar flare-up/incident. The mug shot photo reminds me of a young man I worked with at his exact age. He had been a star student in his late teens early 20s, popular, and just went off the rails.
 
www.nola.com

Man accused in death of tourist in St. Charles Avenue hotel takes manslaughter plea

Martin Hurtado, 30, is scheduled to be sentenced to 40 years in prison on Oct. 6 for the killing of David Sorenson.
www.nola.com www.nola.com

A New Orleans native accused of beating an elderly Missouri man to death inside a St. Charles Avenue hotel room pleaded guilty on Monday to manslaughter, according to court records.
Click to expand...

On Monday, Hurtado accepted a plea deal proffered by prosecutors that saw his second-degree murder charge amended to manslaughter and the two other charges dropped, records show.

He is slated to be sentenced to 40 years in prison, per the plea deal, on Oct. 6 by Judge Marcus DeLarge.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams said the plea deal would save Sorenson’s family the “extremely emotional and stressful ordeal” of a trial. The deal, Williams added, also required Hurtado to waive his right to a future appeal, “which, in turn, brings true closure to the case.”
Click to expand...
 
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