WARNING, GRAPHIC-Oklahoma Man Dies After Taking An Axe To The Head By A Man Buying It And Had Never Met Before

A Riverhead man living in Oklahoma died yesterday after being attacked by a man with an axe Monday.

Tulsa Police said James “Jimi” Patterson, 22, was struck in the head with an axe Monday night in an apartment in Tulsa.

Police said Israel (AKA Isreal) Trejo, who was in the apartment to buy the axe from another person, swung the axe at Patterson, who was sitting on a couch in the apartment.

Patterson and Trejo never spoke to one another, according to police. After a few minutes of holding the axe, Trejo swung the axe and struck Patterson. Trejo then fled the scene but was captured by police shortly afterward.

Patterson was taken to the hospital with the axe still in his head, according to a police press release. He underwent surgery but succumbed to his injuries Thursday.
Trejo, who police said has a prior felony conviction, was initially charged with for Assault with a Deadly Weapon. The charge was upgraded to First Degree Murder after Patterson died.

Trejo is in custody in the Tulsa County Jail, police said.

A classmate of Patterson’s at Riverhead High School started a GoFundMe page to raise money help pay funeral expenses.
“Jimi was such a great kid. Jimi had a great heart; he was very intelligent and was always the class clown keeping a smile on everyone’s face. He was very talented when it came to making music which he loved to do,” wrote fundraising organizer Lexus Gilliam.

“During this tragic time for the Paterson family, we would like to reach out to our community and Jimi’s friends and family to help bring him home for the last time. It would mean so much for all who love him to lay him to rest peacefully in the community he loved,” Gilliam wrote.

With a goal of $25,000, the page has raised $2,165 as of this posting on Friday evening.