Irving Teen Testifies That Liquor Fueled Brother's Anger in Deadly Beating of 83-year-old

The younger brother of a murder suspect on trial in the beating death of an Irving grandmother took the stand Wednesday to testify against him.Jesse Perkins, 21, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the death of 83-year-old Dessie Hancock.His youngest brother, 19-year-old Thomas Perkins, said he watched Jesse punch and kick Hancock's in the head on Dec. 18, 2015.Hancock, the beloved "mother hen" of her neighborhood, died of traumatic brain injuries at Parkland Memorial Hospital two days later."He just attacked this lady for no reason," Irving police spokesman James McLellan said at the time.Hancock didn't know her attacker, police say, and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when she dropped by a neighbor's house for a visit.After school on the day of the attack, Jesse and Thomas Perkins and their brother Edward — who was not charged in the case — went to a liquor store. They were all underage, Thomas Perkins said, so their aunt bought them two bottles of liquor: Hennessy and Bacardi rum. The brothers then went to their usual hangout: the sewers near their house.  Continue reading...