Martin V. Brown never made it back to Armstrong Hall after he left a party more than 30 years ago.
As he walked near Jenison Field House at about 1:30 a.m. on March 11, 1973, the MSU student was attacked and stabbed repeatedly by two unknown assailants. He fled to the area of The Spartan statue and collapsed.
Brown was able to describe his assailants as two black men wearing Army fatigues before he died at the age of 20 at Lansing's Sparrow Hospital.
Thirty-two years after his death, police believe they've finally found those two men.
Gary A. Mason and Kumbi Salim, who is also known as Stanley A. Price, were charged with the open murder of Brown on Sunday in East Lansing's 54-B District Court before Judge Richard Ball.
"It was worth the effort of forming the task force," said Detective Lt. Jeff Joy, of the Ingham County Sheriff's Office, who worked on the case. "We are bringing closure to the family."
Open murder is a felony, punishable by up to life in prison without parole.
Mason, 51, was arrested in San Diego, Calif., and Salim, 54, who was a former MSU student, was found in Henderson, Nev., authorities announced Sunday.
The case was reopened about two years ago by the Ingham County Cold Case Homicide Task Force, a group of investigators from area agencies that team up to solve old cases.
"This is a fantastic example of local jurisdictions working together to get the job done," said Vicki Harrison, chief deputy of the Ingham County Sheriff's Office. "We don't forget and we get the job done."
Although officials won't discuss the additional information they gathered to make the arrests, Joy said the case moved quickly.
"This was one that things developed faster in than other cases," Joy said.
Salim, who legally changed his name from Stanley A. Price, was originally charged for the murder, but there was not enough probable cause to hold him for trial, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said.
Things are different this time, Dunnings said.
"I believe we have probable cause," Dunnings said. "There is sufficient evidence to put this matter before a jury."
The preliminary hearing for Mason is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 21 and a date has not been set for Salim's hearing, Dunnings said.
Elbert Hatchett, Salim's defense attorney, said more time is needed to review the material. The case has proceeded under a suppression order, so Hatchett said he doesn't know any of the new evidence.
"It is very unusual," Hatchett said. "We're simply waiting to receive whatever information that we have to at least get a handle on what they're claiming makes this case any different from the case dismissed 32 years ago for a lack of evidence."
History will repeat itself when it comes to Salim's preliminary hearing, Hatchett said.
"My client obviously maintains that he is not responsible for the homicide," Hatchett said. "I don't think they will find any reason to continue to hold him when the case is aired in the courtroom."
MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap said he worked as an investigator on the original case.
"This has a special significance for me and a special significance for the university," Dunlap said of the arrests.
Brown didn't have any known enemies, Dunlap said.
"By every indication back then, he was essentially at the wrong place at the wrong time," Dunlap said.
The Ingham County Sheriff's Office solved a 1986 homicide case three years ago, but Dunnings said this could be the longest open case solved by Ingham County investigators.
Families with an open case can see that investigators will continue to work, Dunnings said.
"It should reassure them to know that we don't stop," he said. "They're loved ones are never forgotten by law enforcement in Ingham County."
Margaret Harding can be reached at hardin42@msu.edu.
