FARGO – The victim of an assault more than two weeks ago at a downtown apartment building died Wednesday, turning the case into a homicide investigation, police said Thursday. Fargo Interim Police Chief David Todd said Thursday that the victim, 54-year-old Mario Perez, died Wednesday at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.
Perez was discovered Nov. 26 unconscious, with serious head and face injuries, lying on the floor of an apartment in the 50 block of Broadway. Police hoped Perez would recover enough in the hospital to give them information about the attack, Todd said. However, his condition deteriorated, the chief said. Todd said police also experienced initial difficulty in tracking down the people involved in the assault, since, like Perez, they appeared to be transient. Police have located and questioned all three people of interest in the investigation, who were publicly identified Wednesday, Fargo police Lt. Joel Vettel said. The three are 27-year-old Samantha Lynn Rebold, 42-year-old Angel Aguilera Jaimez and 44-year-old Clayton Lee Lockwood Jr. Vettel said none of the three are in custody or charged in connection with the incident. At this point, investigators are not looking to talk to any other people of interest in the investigation, Vettel said.
