Rudy Eugene, 31, of North Miami has been identified as the so-called naked zombie attacker. His victim has also been identified as Ronald Poppo, a 65-year-old homeless man originally from New York.
One of the many things that remain a mystery about this case is how Poppo ended up living as a homeless man on the streets of downtown Miami, FL. Poppo came from middleclass roots and attended a prestigious high school in New York, where he was said to have been an excellent student and volunteer.
Though Eugene had an extensive arrest record, nothing he had been charged with before could have been a prediction for the events that occurred last Saturday on the downtown Miami exit ramp. An old friend of Rudy Eugene’s said nothing about this attack seemed like the man she used to know. Cassandra Metayer, friend of Eugene and cousin of his ex-wife said “He was a good person, a true friend. He was a nice, outgoing, ready-to-help-anybody kind of guy. I’m not just saying that; he really was that person.”
Few clues are being given about this case except that Eugene possible was under the influence of a new designer drug, a toxic mix of amphetamines marketed as new or substitute LSD. Street Named Bath Salts, these drugs are allegedly responsible for a growing number of violent murders and suicides.
