HOUSTON — Family members of a dead Houston man who was brutally attacked at a Montrose park in September said they're hopeful his suspected attacker will soon be charged with murder.
The suspect allegedly recorded parts of the beating with his phone then posted the video to his Facebook page.
Isaiah Molina, 20, was arrested on Sept. 6 for allegedly attacking Brett Rabb, 52, to the point that he was unresponsive. Molina is charged with assault causing serious bodily injury. Rabb was removed from life support last month and died a few days later.
“He was at the park, sitting on a park bench and the witness said the guy just went up and attacked him,” Rabb’s brother said.
Kiko Rabb flew to Houston as soon as he learned what happened. Doctors in the ICU gave him the status of his brother’s condition.
“He told me my brother has sustained a major brain injury,” Kiko Rabb said. “And also due to kicking him in the neck, he had a ruptured artery that broke and created a clot that went to his brain.”
Prosecutors said Molina eventually confessed to police once he was caught nearby. Neighbors called 911 when they saw Rabb unconscious and bloody on the ground. Prosecutors said Molina told police he punched, kicked and stomped Brett Rabb until he could no longer respond.
Another one of Rabb’s brothers looked up Molina online after he was arrested. On his Facebook page, they found a video of the attack that they said he recorded and uploaded on the night of the beating.
“It was extremely hard to look at,” Kiko Rabb said. “And that’s all I can say. Just thinking about it.”
Rabb died last month, a few days after he was removed from life support.
KHOU interviewed Rabb in Montrose two years ago for a story about a group of thieves who prey on their victims using dating apps.
“You take a lot of risk if you engage with people online or on an app,” Rabb said back in 2018. “Because you don’t know them.”
Rabb’s brother said trouble found his sibling in person. He wants his brother’s accused attacker to be charged with murder.
“I hope this guy is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and I hope he never sees another day outside,” Kiko Rabb said.
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office says it will be looking at the possibility of upgrading the assault charge to murder. An HCDAO spokesman says prosecutors are still waiting to receive Rabb’s autopsy results.