The homeless man whose face was chewed off by the “Miami Zombie” was identified Tuesday as a bearded, 65-year-old drifter with a long criminal record.
Ronald Poppo was clinging to life at Jackson Memorial Hospital, with only his goatee left intact.
Gruesome photos circulating on the Internet show wounds so extensive that recovery appears unlikely.
Ronald Poppo was clinging to life at Jackson Memorial Hospital, with only his goatee left intact.
Gruesome photos circulating on the Internet show wounds so extensive that recovery appears unlikely.
Poppo, who may have originally been from New York but spent four decades on the streets in South Florida, was a regular under the bridge where he was attacked Saturday by Rudy Eugene, 31.
While witnesses might rather forget what they saw, cops were pleading for them to share every detail.
“We know that there were many people on the MacArthur Causeway and we’re hoping they come forward,” said Detective William Moreno.
Eugene died in a hail of police bullets after an initial shot failed to stop him from tearing away and swallowing chunks of Poppo’s face.
Eugene was a former high school football player who listed his cell phone as his only asset when he divorced in 2005 after two years of marriage.
He had a half dozen misdemeanor arrests, mostly for smoking pot.
The Miami Herald reported that his victim had been arrested 24 times since 1978, mostly for drinking in public. He lived in New York and New Orleans before landing in South Florida, the paper said.
Cops and the hospital have been unable to locate a next of kin, or even any friends.
His ex-wife, however, told Local 10 News she ended her two-year marriage to Eugene because he became increasingly hostile.
"I wouldn't say he had (a) mental problem but he always felt like people was against him," Jenny Ductant said. "No one was for him, everyone was against him."
Several homeless people who live around the area where the gruesome attack occurred said they knew Eugene, and said he often looked confused.
"I was actually talking to him the other day," an unidentified homeless man told Local 10 News. "It's pretty weird."
Eugene, who was growling like an animal as he swallowed pieces of flesh, had to be shot at least six times before he died on Saturday.What prompted the hideous attack — and what kind of drugs, if any, Eugene was on — remained a mystery Monday.
Cops said it might be a case that involved a new type of synthetic stimulant called “bath salts” or “plant food,” which can cause users to become paranoid and aggressive.
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