Editor's note: The story has been corrected to say the suspects used a bandanna to stifle the victim's screams.
GILBERT — A robbery victim died after he was found bound and not breathing in his home and two suspects found hiding in the attic were arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, authorities said Wednesday.
Torre Sanders, 20, and a 17-year-old boy were arrested Monday after a neighbor watching from a second-story window called 911 to two people beating Shane Mullins in his backyard and forcing him into his home, Gilbert police said.
The Associated Press does not generally identify juvenile crime defendants.
Officers broke into Mullins' home and found him lying on the floor with his hands and feet bound with cords and rope, to a police probable cause statement said.
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Efforts to revive Mullins were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The defendants had stuffed a bandanna into his mouth and sat on his back so his screams wouldn't be heard when a visitor knocked on the front door just before police arrived, the statement said.
Police searching the home heard noises from the attic, saw its door ajar ordered the suspects to come down. They emerged with bags of marijuana and valuables, the statement said.
They were being held for $1 million bond following initial court appearances and did not have attorneys who could comment on the allegations.
