A former World Trade Center consultant who “narrowly escaped death” on 9/11 was beaten to death in Florida by a trio of teens, one of whom was barely out of childhood at the time of the attack, officials said.
Roger Borkum, 64, originally from Syosset, Long Island, was found “severely beaten” on a Jacksonville sidewalk just before midnight on Oct. 19, according to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Police said witnesses saw three teens “kicking and stomping” the homeless widower as blood “pooled” around his head and a “blood trail” stretched along the pavement.
The same crew was later seen “rummaging” through Borkum’s backpack and returning roughly 20 minutes later to kick him “multiple” times, the report said. In all, the attackers “battering the victim three separate times,” according to police documents. Borkum died four days later.
The suspects — Justin Curry, 13, Marcavion Lacey, 19, and Robert Pope, 17 — were rounded up within hours and indicted on murder charges Nov. 20. Curry was just 12 during the attack.
One teen tried to pin the violence on Borkum, claiming the stranger had “dissed” their “dead homies,” the arrest report said, without explaining further.
“This case is a heartbreaking reminder of how young some offenders have become and how devastating the consequences are for victims, families, and the surrounding community,” the sheriff’s office said. “Parents and guardians, get involved in your children’s lives….Take action before it’s too late.”
Borkum had worked as a consultant on the 77th floor of Tower 1 at the World Trade Center. He was laid off in July 2001, a twist of fate that his obituary said meant he “narrowly escaped death” when “his coworkers perished” in the terror attacks two months later.
