Teens Suspected of ‘Laughing and Enjoying Themselves’ as They Beat Dad of 3 Outside of Kroger Now Face Murder Charges

Three Ohio teens were charged with murder on Wednesday, two days after a father of three died from head injuries he suffered from an attack in early December outside of a Kroger supermarket in Columbus.

On the night of Dec. 6, Jamarion Fredrae Evans-Bennett, 19, Dionta Davon Hughes, 18, and a 17-year-old male allegedly had a fight with shoppers inside the Kroger on South High Street. According to the Columbus Police Department, when store security told to the teens to leave, they waited outside for 53-year-old Donald “Donnie” Smith, Jr., to exit the store and attacked him.

Jamarion Fredrae Evans-Bennett, Dionta Davon Hughes, and Donnie-Smith

The defendants, who were allegedly spotted “laughing and enjoying themselves” while fatally stomping on, kicking, and punching Smith outside the store at around 7 p.m., went on to flee the scene when an armed witness confronted them, cops said.

“When the victim was on the ground the suspects continued to punch, kick, and stomp on the victim. The victim was unconscious and bleeding from the head area,” said an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Law&Crime. “A witness with a firearm yelled at the suspects to stop the assault. The suspects then fled across the parking lot. This witness stated that the suspects were laughing and enjoying themselves while assaulting the victim.”