A 34-year-old Houston man is brain dead after he was beaten in a parking lot, and police have charged a man with a long criminal history in an attack that the victim's family says was carried out with a crowbar. The man has been on life support since last week, and his family is now speaking out about the violence that upended their lives.
The 34-year-old victim has been hospitalized at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest since last week, where his family says doctors told them he is brain dead. Harris County court records confirm that he is brain dead, a devastating outcome for a man his relatives describe as having been going about an ordinary day when he was suddenly attacked.
According to the victim's family, he was beaten with a crowbar during the assault, which took place in a parking lot. The brutal nature of the attack left him with catastrophic injuries from which he has not recovered, and his loved ones have been left grasping for answers about how and why the violence unfolded the way that it did.
Police have identified the man accused in the attack as 28-year-old Joshua McDaniel. According to Harris County court records, McDaniel has more than 15 prior criminal charges dating back to 2015. He is currently being held at the Harris County Jail as the case against him moves forward through the court system in Houston.
McDaniel is being held on four charges, according to authorities, including two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assault causing bodily injury, and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. His bail on the charges has been set at a total of 755,000 dollars, and he is due back in court on Tuesday in connection with one of the assault charges.
Authorities say McDaniel hurt four people within 24 hours. Two people were allegedly attacked on one day and two others the day before, according to accounts tied to the case, leaving several families shaken. Relatives have questioned how someone with such a long record of prior charges was able to remain free to allegedly carry out the string of assaults.
As the injured man remains on life support, his family has stepped forward publicly to share his story and to press for accountability, and they have set up an online fundraiser that has already raised thousands of dollars. They are among a group of relatives left reeling by the recent attacks, still searching for an explanation for the sudden and brutal violence.