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Horrifying Video Surfaces Of Homeless Man Being Tortured In Golden Gate Park

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Shocking new video has surfaced showing a homeless man who was taunted, beaten and tortured by a group of men prior to being slain in Golden Gate Park.

His assailants tortured him for three days and eventually killed him, dumping his body in Golden Gate Park's Alvord Lake. He was found on Tuesday, May 24. Police quickly determined that the death was suspicious.

The two men connected to the deadly incident were identified as 20-year-old Stephen Billingsley and 37-year-old Nikki Williams.

Both suspects had no prior arrest record in San Francisco and are believed to be transients without any longstanding ties to the city, according to Manfredi.

The pair was arraigned Monday, according to court documents.

Nikki Williams, who goes by the alias "Evil," is charged with assault, false imprisonment, elder abuse and conspiracy, in addition to two outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Billingsley, who goes by the alias "Pizza Steve," is charged with torture, murder, assault, conspiracy and elder abuse.

The recent case of brutal torture and homicide is the latest in a series of violent incidents to happen at Golden Gate Park and the surrounding neighborhood.

The video taken during one of the confrontations with the homeless man is as powerful as it is disturbing.

"In the pond you go!!" one man is heard shouting.

"Dunk him, man!!" yells another.

The clip from May 22nd provides chilling insight into the world of the homeless and the sense of street justice that also lives in Golden Gate Park.

The man at the center of the abuse is 63-year-old Steven Williams. He was known around the park and the people who live there. On this day several weeks ago, he apparently was seen masturbating in public.

In the clip, Williams is seen being pushed into the pond before one man follows him in, beating him and dunking his head under the water.

"There were kids around, and the man was fondling himself," one witness -- who wanted to remain unnamed -- told KPIX 5.

"We're just going off our instinct," said another witness. "We're going to take care of it."

That man says he didn't take part in the beating, but he was part of the chorus cheering it on.

"I think an off duty police officer would have done it, too. It was something sick," he said. "And it was something you can't really control. Your anger. Seeing something so nasty."

Another man told KPIX 5 that the action was extreme, but said that was just how the assailants reacted.

"Certain people have different ways of dealing with such things. They handled it their way," the man said. "I wouldn't have handled it that way. But it got done, so what can you say?"

Ultimately, it appears Williams received the street version of the death penalty for his actions. Investigators say he was tortured and beaten over a period of three days before being killed.

On May 23, Billingsley along with other unknown suspects, struck and stomped on Stephen Williams near Haight and Clayton streets, rendering him unconscious.

Finally, on May 24, Billingsley and Nikki Williams struck and stomped the victim near the lake, again rendering him unconscious.  Billingsley, along with other unknown suspects, then dragged Stephen Williams into Alvord Lake, according to court documents.

"At the time he wasn't dead, so I was all for it. Like I say, I'm a father," said one of the witnesses. "But if I would have known it would have progressed like it did, it shouldn't have happened."

Police believe eight or nine other assailants may be involved in the attacks that led to Williams' death. Authorities are still searching for those suspects.

Bail has been set for the pair at $1 million. They are set to return to court on June 17 for a pre-hearing conference.

 

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