Sheriff: Attacker Admits Beating, Leaving Hudson Man For Dead Because He Thought He Was Gay

José Tobias Carranza Serrano, 18, was captured by police in Bayonne who found him and his clothes covered in blood while arresting him on a trespassing charge, it was revealed Wednesday.

Carranza Serrano confessed to them that he lured the 37-year-old victim into a wooded area of the North Bergen park, where he tried to kill him because he "does not like homosexuals," an affidavit filed by the Hudson County Sheriff's Office says.

He remained held Wednesday on charges of attempted murder and bias intimidation, state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced.

The victim had apparently gone for his usual walk the night of June 21 when Grewal said he was attacked by Serrano near the south end of the lake at James J. Braddock North Hudson Park.

The victim “was a stranger whom Carranza Serrano had just met,” the attorney general said. “[He] wanted to kill the victim because he suspected the victim was gay.”

Carranza Serrano punched and kicked the victim in the face and gouged his eyes, causing multiple fractures and knocking out several teeth, and tried to strangle him, Grewal said.

He then took a cellphone and cash and fled, he said.

A jogger found the unconscious victim around 5 a.m., several hours after the assault, the attorney general said.

He reportedly was hospitalized with severe injuries, including kidney and liver damage and several broken bones in his face.

Doctors at Hackensack University Medical Center "had no choice but to intubate the victim," the affidavit filed by the sheriff's office says.

Serrano – also known as Kenny Lopez – was arrested by Bayonne police last Wednesday.

“Whether this type of hate-fueled violence is directed against the LGBTQ+ community or other groups, it is terribly destructive to society and we must push back against it in every way possible,” Grewal said.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez’s Office and Hudson County Sheriff Frank X. Schillari’s office took the lead investigating the case, which is being jointly handled by the state Division of Criminal Justice and the HCPO, Grewal said. 

He also thanked Bayonne police for their considerable assistance.

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