Crime Chronics

It’s reported that a former two-division champion, the first boxer to defeat Shane Mosley, the 38-year-old Vernon Forrest was shot to death in Atlanta in attempted robbery.

According to www.eds-systems.com
Fulton County medical examiner Michele Stauffenberg confirmed that the case was a homicide and that the autopsy showed Forrest died from “multiple gunshot wounds involving the torso and thigh.” Keyes said a police report on the shooting was not immediately available.

Charles Watson, the boxer’s manager, said police and witnesses told him that Forrest had stopped at a gas station to put air in one of his car tires when a man approached asking for money.

“Somehow, Vernon had his wallet out and the guy snatched his wallet and started running,” Watson said. “Vernon pursued after him. The guy turned the corner and Vernon didn’t see him. He turned around to go back to the car. That’s when he started firing.”

Forrest, a native of Augusta, Ga., who lived in Atlanta, was a member of the 1992 Olympic team along with Oscar De La Hoya. The popular fighter later won welterweight and junior-middleweight titles and compiled a professional record of 41-3 with 29 knockouts.

Longtime publicist Kelly Swanson said Forrest was not married and had one son, Vernon Jr.

This is the third high-profile death of a boxing champion in the last month.

Hall of Famer Alexis Arguello, the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, was found dead at his home on July 1 in an apparent suicide.

Two weeks ago, popular brawler Arturo Gatti was found dead in a condominium at a resort in Brazil. Gatti’s wife remains the prime suspect in that case.

According Slovak newspaper yesterday reported that former Flyers prospect Ladislav Scurko had been arrested and accused of killing a referee last year.

The report said police in Kosice, Slovakia, say that Scurko, 23, was suspected of stabbing Marek Liptaj 14 times at a highway road house in January 2008. The corpse, buried in a forest, was discovered 11 months later.

The police didn’t reveal motives for the crime, but said Scurko could face 15 to 20 years in prison.

Scurko, a center, was a sixth-round draft pick (170th overall) of the Flyers in 2004. He played in Slovak pro leagues the last two years, registering a total of seven goals in 84 games.

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said the Flyers didn’t sign Scurko and he had not been a member of the organization for a few years.

The 23-year-old center, who was a sixth-round pick of the Flyers in 2004, has been charged with stabbing referee Marek Liptag 14 times.

Liptag’s decomposed body was reportedly dumped in a shallow grave in a forest where it was found. The killing is believed to have occurred months ago off a roadway near Kosice, Slovakia, according to newspaper reports.

Scurko, who is Slovakian, played briefly for former Flyer general manager Russ Farwell in Seattle.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said the club was withholding comment until more information was known.