LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Police arrested two men following a January assault at a Lincoln bus stop in which a man was beaten with a baseball bat. One of those arrested is also accused of killing a Stromsburg couple and their unborn child.
According to authorities, investigators cited and lodged 24-year-old Sterling James on Friday. He remains in jail on suspicion of murder, second-degree assault, and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.
On Monday around 9:45 p.m., officers located and arrested 41-year-old William Hill of Lincoln on suspicion of second-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, police said.
Hill appeared in court Tuesday, where a judge set his bond at 10% of $250,000.
A third suspect, a 17-year-old, has not yet been arrested or charged.
Police said the assault occurred Jan. 13 around 6:30 a.m. on West South Street near Southwest 26th Street. Witnesses reported that three masked individuals attacked the victim as he approached a bus stop.
Investigators said the suspects tackled the victim, beat him, and struck him with a baseball bat before fleeing in a white SUV waiting nearby on 27th Street.
The victim, a 50-year-old Lincoln man, was hospitalized with multiple injuries, including broken ribs, a head laceration requiring staples, and severe swelling and bruising.
An arrest affidavit states that James knew the victim from their workplace and targeted him because of a prior conviction for sexual assault involving a minor in 2008. Police believe James worked with the victim for just one day before the attack.
According to jail records, additional charges related to the assault will not be filed against James at this time. He is already facing two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder of an unborn child, and tampering with evidence. He is being held without bond, and those charges could carry the death penalty.
Police allege James killed Hannah Neville and his half-brother, Roberto Tanner. Authorities said Neville was 32 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
Investigators believe the killings occurred Jan. 15, two days after the bus stop assault.
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