Boston police are searching for a teenager from Texas they\u2019ve identified as the suspect in a deadly stabbing that took place on a South Station escalator last week during the Wednesday evening rush hour. <\/p>\n
Authorities asked the public for help locating Marico Levy, 17, of Aubrey, Texas. <\/a><\/p>\n He\u2019s accused of killing Latavious Owens, 29, a man from Memphis. He had recently traveled to Boston with friends, according to his mother, Shermanda McNeal. <\/p>\n (McNeal said Latavious is the correct spelling of her son\u2019s first name, although police and others have spelled it Latavius.)<\/p>\n Police haven\u2019t detailed any prior relationship between the victim and the suspect, but officials were quick to say the homicide was not a random attack. Meanwhile, McNeal told the Globe last week that her son knew his assailant. <\/p>\n According to what she\u2019s learned from talking to his other friends, the two got into a fight over a $25 unpaid bill for a cell phone <\/a> they were sharing. <\/p>\n When reached by phone Tuesday evening, McNeal didn\u2019t immediately recognize Levy\u2019s name. <\/p>\n The stabbing was reported around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, after \u201can altercation between the victim and another male on the escalator\u201d inside the Red Line station, officials have said. MBTA Transit Police discovered Owens suffering from at least one stab wound. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The suspect was apparently able to flee the scene and exit the busy transit hub.<\/p>\n McNeal said the family is still trying desperately to raise enough money to bring her son\u2019s body home to Memphis for burial, including through a crowd funding webpage<\/a>. <\/p>\n Owens and his friends came north to raise money for a youth basketball program in Memphis \u2014 a trip they made somewhat frequently to solicit donations from Massachusetts residents, sometimes selling candy to support their cause, McNeal said. <\/p>\n However, court records show Owens had been contacted by police in multiple states and accused of participating in fraudulent fundraising schemes, supposedly to support youth sports programs. That includes an arrest in Medford in 2024; those charges were later dropped by prosecutors.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear whether Levy was involved in similar efforts.<\/p>\n Owens had previously performed as what\u2019s called a Beale Street flipper \u2014 Memphis entertainers who showcase gymnastics moves and other acrobatics, often soliciting tips from tourists along the city\u2019s iconic thoroughfare, according to his family.<\/p>\n Lauren Albano can be reached at lauren.albano@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @LaurenAlbano_<\/a>. Lea Skene can be reached at lea.skene@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @lea_skene<\/a>.<\/p>\n