Suspect faces amended charges after man dies weeks after brutal attack during attempted carjacking



MILWAUKEE -- Kenneth Deramus, 62, died on Saturday, April 7 after he was attacked in his own driveway during an attempted carjacking. It happened outside a home near 3rd and Keefe in February. Officials say his death will be ruled a homicide.

Police charged Dorian Ramsey with aggravated battery. Amended charges for homicide will be sought against Ramsey. This, after Deramus spent the last weeks of his life unconscious in a hospital bed.

Kenneth Deramus, Dorian Ramsey



The victim knew his attacker, and what happened to him was brazen.

Kenisha Deramus



 

Kenisha Deramus said she believes her father was targeted for his car.

"He just bought that car. He ain't have that car a month," said Kenisha Deramus.

Police arrested and charged Ramsey with aggravated battery, but charges are now being amended after Deramus' death.

Dorian Ramsey



"I hope he rot. You hear me? Like take the key and throw it away," said Kenisha Deramus.

According to a criminal complaint, police responded to the neighborhood on Feb. 18, and spoke with a woman who stated "she was awakened by a horn blaring from a vehicle outside of her house." When she looked out the window, she saw her boyfriend, Kenneth Deramus, sitting in a car and telling the woman that Ramsey, who was standing near him, should "leave him alone."

The complaint indicates the woman went downstairs to let her boyfriend into the building. As she unlocked the door, the woman told police she heard her boyfriend yell -- and then "she saw Ramsey strike (her boyfriend) in the face with a closed fist." The woman went back upstairs to call police. When she went back to the window, she noticed Ramsey "stomping" on her boyfriend's head.

Deramus was taken to a hospital for treatment.



When police arrived to speak with him, they learned he had "suffered multiple facial fractures, a broken nose, and cranial brain bleeding." Deramus was admitted to intensive care -- and "never gained consciousness while officers were there to speak with him."

Kenisha Deramus said the men had kindly crossed paths multiple times.

"He's fed Dorian. He's held conversations with Dorian. He basically like took my whole world away," said Kenisha Deramus.

Kenisha Deramus said her father's injuries were unimaginable.

"You broke his neck. You broke three ribs and you broke every bone in his face. I have to mold myself into living life without him. That's all I knew for the past 22 years," said Kenisha Deramus.

Kenneth Deramus



 

The victim's girlfriend, who watched the beating, was also hospitalized -- suffering from anxiety and severe asthma attacks as a result.

Ramsey has pleaded not guilty. Cash bond has been set at $7,500 in this case.

FOX6 News spoke with Dorian Ramsey's cousin on Monday, April 9, after it was learned Deramus passed away. She said the family is sorry for the Deramus family's loss.

A GoFundMe.com account has been set up to raise money for Kenneth Deramus' funeral. CLICK HERE to access that account.