Humble man accused of beating man to death in N.J.

In one of the strangest stories to come along in a while, a Humble man is accused of having beaten a Russian traveler to death at a New Jersey Turnpike service plaza yesterday — apparently a random attack that police say might have been motivated by religion.

The basics are these: Shortly before 12:45 a.m. Thursday, Michail J. Makarenko, a 75-year-old Russian who emigrated to the U.S. 25 years ago, pulled over with his interpreter at the James Fenimore Cooper rest stop along the Jersey Turnpike. Makarenko used the restroom, then walked outside while the interpreter bought a snack; while he was outside, he ran into 26-year-old Brian K. White, who had left his home in Humble on Tuesday morning headed for New York City. White reportedly asked Makarenko to buy a religious CD, and Makarenko declined; then, witnesses say, White picked up a rock and repeatedly beat Makarenko in the head. White left Makarenko bleeding on the ground and drove off in his Camaro, leading police on an hour-long chase before pulling over in Teaneck, jumping out of the car and charging at the cops. He was subdued and arrested, still with blood on his hands.

What's unclear, though, is exactly why White attacked Makarenko. The two had never met, but New Jersey state police said the attack might have been motivated by White's religious beliefs: White made Christian hip-hop CDs, and on his MySpace page, he predicted that one of his albums — The Book of Brian — would become part of the Bible. "I don't go around trying to ruin peoples life, I just obey God," White wrote on MySpace. White's sister, Marsha, said the family hadn't seen much of White lately. She said he had been having some problems, but didn't specify what they were; the AP reports that he had been convicted of marijuana possession twice in the past few years and once spent 22 days in jail.

White is being held on a $750,000 bond; a judge said he won't be released until he has had a psychiatric evaluation. Makarenko died before a medical helicopter could arrive at the rest stop; his translator, Gregory Burnside, said he "died a martyr's death — he was stoned."