Mexican Officials Arrest Two Men in Murder of Malcolm X's Grandson

Mexican press conference announcing the arrest of two nationals in the murder of Malcolm Shabazz. Shabazz was severely beaten and left for dead outside a bar in Mexico City., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Mexican officials arrest two men in murder of Malcolm X's grandson

Malcolm Shabazz, 28, died in Mexico on Thursday

Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus, 24 and David Hernandez Cruz, 24 are thought to work at the bar where Shabazz became embroiled in a dispute

Malcolm X's 'first male heir' was born in 1984 and never met his activist grandfather who was assassinated in 1965
Had a troubled youth shuffling from various relatives as his mother battled alcohol and drug addiction
At age 12, admitted to starting apartment fire that killed his 63-year-old grandmother Betty Shabazz in 1997
Was an aspiring writer, attending John Jay College in New York
He was in Mexico City to meet with labor organizers before his death

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 17:01 EST, 13 May 2013 | UPDATED: 17:01 EST, 13 May 2013

Malcolm Shabazz, the 28-year-old grandson of political activist Malcolm X, died in Mexico City on Thursday after being beaten to death
Mexico City prosecutors say they have arrested two men in connection with the death of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of political activist Malcolm X.

Manuel Alejandro Perez de Jesus, 24, and David Hernandez Cruz, 24, are employees of the bar where Shabazz reportedly got in a violent dispute last week about a $1,200 bar tab, according to an unnamed official of the city's prosecutor's office.

The 28-year-old Shabazz died of blunt-force trauma injuries in hospital on Thursday.

It is not yet clear how the victim sustained the injuries with reports of a botched robbery and varying opinions of whether he was struck or pushed from a building.

The son of Malcolm X's second daughter, Qubilah Shabazz, had a troubled childhood and at the age of 12 pleaded guilty in 1997 to setting a fire that killed his grandmother, Malcolm X's widow Betty Shabazz.

The location of the rumored attack has not yet been confirmed, as some websites have claimed he died in Tijuana and other news outlets have listed the place of death as Mexico City.

Shabazz was reportedly in Mexico to meet with labor movement organizers, Talking Points Memo said.

Juan Ruiz, part of the California-based labor group Rumec, told the website that Shabazz was in Mexico City to meet with one of Rumec's leaders, Miguel Suarez.

Suarez had been deported from the United States last month.

'He’s a supporter of our organization. He went to Mexico to meet with Miguel,' Mr Ruiz told TPM.

'He was murdered. He was in Mexico City and I believe they attempted to rob him and he didn't allow it, so they beat him to death and he died on his way to the hospital. This is all I can confirm, everything else is under investigation for the meantime,' he added.

Imam Dawud Walid, an acquaintance of Shabazz and executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Michigan, told NBC News, 'I do know that Malcolm was involved in human rights and that he had a relationship with a gentleman named Suarez in Mexico.'

The U.S. State Department confirmed on Friday that a U.S. citizen had been killed in Mexico City but said it was not releasing the individual's name at the family's request.

The U.S. Embassy in Mexico City is closed on Friday as Mexico celebrates Mother's Day.

The Amsterdam News first reported the man's death and later stated that the U.S. Embassy had confirmed the death.

A family friend of the Shabazz family, Terrie M. Williams, wrote in a Facebook posting, 'I'm confirming, per US Embassy, on behalf of the family, the tragic death of Malcolm Shabazz, grandson of Malcolm X. Statement from family to come.'

Malcolm Shabazz was born in 1984 and never met his activist grandfather, who was assassinated in 1965 in New York.
Malcom Shabazz's father was an Algerian man, his mother had a relationship with when she studied in Paris.

His mother struggled with alcohol and drug addiction so during his childhood Malcolm Shabazz lived with various relatives.

Tragedy struck with the youth set fire to his grandmother's apartment in Yonkers, New York in 1997. The woman, Betty Shabazz, sustained burns over 80 per cent of her body and died.

At a court hearing in the case, experts described Shabazz as psychotic and schizophrenic.

After his release, he returned to jail in 2002 for a robbery charge and was arrested again in 2006.

He claimed earlier in 2013 that he was being harassed by the FBI, in an impassioned blog posting.

Shabazz described himself as the 'first male heir of the greatest revolutionary leader of the 20th century,' on his Twitter profile.

On his Twitter profile he lists Washington D.C. as his hometown but was said to be attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York before his death.

He suggested on his blog that he was an aspiring writer and was in the process of working on the manuscripts for two books.

'Malcolm is a humble, passionate and forceful speaker who’s emerging as a voice for our generation as a writer,' his biography states.
He is survived by his mother and two daughters.

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May 13, 2013

2 Waiters Arrested in Killing of Malcolm X’s Grandson

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
New York Times

MEXICO CITY — The police here arrested two men on murder and robbery charges on Monday in the beating death last week of Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X, though many questions about the case remained unresolved.

The men taken into custody, David Hernández Cruz and Manuel Alejandro Pérez de Jesús, worked as waiters at the Palace Club, a downtown bar where Mr. Shabazz, 28, was beaten, in what the city prosecutor called a dispute over an excessive bill.

Two other bar employees who the authorities said participated in the beating, which left Mr. Shabazz with fatal skull, jaw and rib fractures, were being sought.

The body of Mr. Shabazz, who for years had wrestled with living in the shadow of his grandfather’s fame, was still at a city morgue on Monday while American consular officials worked to have it returned to the United States. A family spokeswoman said they would have no comment, and no funeral plans have been announced.

Mr. Shabazz arrived in Mexico City from Tijuana, the prosecutor, Rodolfo Fernando Rios Garza, said at a news conference. He went to the bar on Thursday with a man whom friends identified as Miguel Suárez, a Mexican labor activist whom Mr. Shabazz had befriended in the United States and who had been recently deported.

When the argument over the tab broke out around 3 a.m. as they prepared to leave, the two were separated by bar employees, but, for reasons the prosecutor said had not yet been determined, only Mr. Shabazz was beaten. A blunt object was used but no other details were given.

Mr. Shabazz’s companion was taken to another part of the bar and robbed but said he managed to escape and call for help.

The pair disputed a tab that came to around $1,200, Mr. Rios Garza said. Two young women had approached them on the street and invited them to the bar, but although Mexican newspapers have identified the bar as a known brothel, Mr. Rios Garza waved off questions regarding prostitution. Many of the bars in that rundown area charge customers for even a conversation with their female employees, according to Mexican news reports.

Mr. Shabazz consumed several drinks; a prosecutor’s office statement said he had a blood alcohol concentration more than three times the legal limit for driving in most American jurisdictions. But the prosecutor, while not offering details on how much liquor was consumed, said the bill was excessive and was part of the effort to rob Mr. Shabazz and his companion.

He said he found no evidence that race or any motive other than robbery was in play, and there was no indication that the attackers knew Mr. Shabazz came from a famous family.

The investigation, however, has had its stumbles.

There were security cameras in the bar, but after a search of the property two days after the attack, video recording equipment was missing and the cameras were turned toward the walls, the prosecutor’s statement said. It was unclear why the search was delayed, but justice reform advocates have long complained that Mexican investigators do not always move with the speed and forensic acumen of the police in the United States.

The police have interviewed Mr. Suárez, who could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Shabazz was 12 when he set a fire in Yonkers that killed his grandmother, Betty Shabazz. After serving prison time, he walked an erratic path away from his troubled youth.

He had gone to Mexico City with Mr. Suárez with plans to draw media attention to his deportation, Mr. Suárez said on Facebook.

Karla Zabludovsky contributed reporting from Mexico City, and Kia Gregory from New York.