Authorities say John Nusslein, 19, lured a 70-year-old delivery driver to a location in Northeast Philadelphia and beat him to death during one of two carjackings in 2021.
The next carjacking took place roughly two weeks later when investigators say Nusslein lured another delivery driver to a different location in Philadelphia and stole the driver's car.
In that incident, the driver survived the carjacking.
"That Nusslein and the others so brutally beat one driver that his injuries proved fatal is horrific. We and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force simply won't permit violent offenders like Nusslein to victimize people with impunity. They will be prosecuted, and they will go to prison for a very long time," noted U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero.
One of Nusslein's accomplices in the first carjacking was 12 years old, according to police.
"This case is a tragic reminder that carjackings can have deadly consequences," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel. "The senseless assault on these food delivery drivers is appalling and unacceptable."
The 19-year-old is scheduled to be sentenced in July.