Not guilty plea in fatal Seattle beating

Published 2:13 pm Monday, October 21, 2013

SEATTLE — A man accused of fatally beating another man on Labor Day at a south Seattle bus shelter pleaded not guilty Monday to a second-degree murder charge.

The King County prosecutor’s office said 38-year-old Hosea Wilcox of Seattle beat 55-year-old Bobby Washington while yelling at witnesses who tried to interfere to mind their own business.

Prosecutors said Wilcox believed Washington had disrespected his mother.

Court documents said Washington suffered a head injury in the fight but wouldn’t cooperate with medics. He collapsed at his home a few days later and never recovered from a coma. He died Sept. 19 at a hospital.

When Wilcox was arrested on Oct. 3 he had a stolen gun in his waistband. He remains in jail on $500,000 bail.