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Elderly man beaten to death

George Wallace's tenant found him covered in blood early Friday in their St. Petersburg home. The 85-year-old's car, a white Buick Regal, is missing.

By CURTIS KRUEGER
Published January 13, 2006

	[Times file photo]
	George Wallace, shown in this 1994 photo, died Friday morning from injuries he suffered in a beating in his St. Petersburg home. Police say Wallace's 1999 white Buick Regal, license plate number R43-EV, is missing.

ST. PETERSBURG - Jeff Braden says he heard thumping inside the house where he lives, but thought he was having nightmares. Later, he got up and looked around.

That, he says, was when he heard calls from George Leonard Wallace, the 85-year-old man who owns the home. When he turned on the lights, Braden said, he was astonished to see Wallace sitting in the recliner where he normally sleeps, beaten and covered with blood.

"That wasn't no nightmare, that was reality," Braden said.

Wallace died at Bayfront Medical Center just after 10 a.m., police said.

Police investigating the beating at 6601 Pasadena Ave N are on the lookout for his car, which was missing. It is a 1999 white Buick Regal with tan leather seats, license plate number R43-EV.

Wallace lives in the home with Braden, a tenant who pays $500 a month for one room in the white tiled-roof house. Neighbors said Wallace, who uses a wheelchair, has a son in Chicago, but no local relatives.

Braden says that when he turned on the lights and saw Wallace, he was saying, "They're choking me, they're choking me," as if someone was still hurting him.

"I said "George who did it, where they black, white, Hispanic?' "

"I don't know, I don't know," Wallace said, according to Braden, 48, an exterminator and security guard.

Braden said the house was ransacked, and someone obviously had opened drawers and gone through medicines on the kitchen table looking for valuables. Braden said the door to his own bedroom was locked. He says he did not hear anyone trying to get into his room.

"I'm kind of a little nervous to continue staying here, 'cause I love life," Braden said. "I really feel like I'd be dead if they could have come in my room."

Neighbors described Wallace as a man who is essentially private and generally keeps to himself, but is always friendly when spoken. His next-door neighbor, Debbie Wolfe, the technology training editor for the St. Petersburg Times, said Wallace liked to chat about their dogs, and sometimes participated in neighborhood karaoke parties.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call (727) 893-4904 or (727) 893-7780.

[Last modified January 13, 2006, 12:52:03]