New York man who beat 4 to death in Chinatown rampage heard voices telling him to kill

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by Associated PressJanuary 28, 2026 at 12:39 AM

AI Summary

short article 1 min

Randy Santos is on trial in Manhattan for the 2019 bludgeoning deaths of four homeless men in Chinatown. Santos' lawyer argues he is not criminally responsible due to insanity, claiming he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and heard voices commanding him to kill 40 people to save himself. The defense acknowledges Santos committed the attacks but asserts his mental illness drove his violent actions. Santos has pleaded not guilty to charges including first-degree murder and attempted murder. If the insanity defense succeeds, he could be sent to a psychiatric facility instead of prison. One of the victims was identified as 83-year-old Chuen Kok, a Cantonese immigrant.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Hong Kong 40% Marnie Zien 50% Nazario Vasquez Villegas 60% Florencio Moran 60% Anthony Manson 60% Manhattan ×270% Chuen Kok ×270% New York ×280% Chinatown ×285% Randy Santos ×390%

Keywords

insanity defense 90% chinatown rampage 90% schizophrenia 80% murder trial 80% mental illness 70% hearing voices 70% new york 60% violent crime 60% psychiatric treatment 50% metal bar 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

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Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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insanity defense chinatown rampage schizophrenia murder trial mental illness hearing voices new york violent crime psychiatric treatment metal bar

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