Arrest made in New Orleans hotel killing

NEW ORLEANS — A man is in custody after an intruder entered a New Orleans hotel room and fatally beat an elderly man from Missouri who was visiting the city with his wife, police said.

The 75-year-old man was found unresponsive Thursday night at the Avenue Plaza Hotel in the city’s Garden District. He later died at a hospital.

Martin Hurtado, 29, of New Orleans faces a charge of second-degree murder. Magistrate commissioner Jay Daniels on Friday set bail at $350,000.

Police said they were called after someone pulled a fire alarm about 11 p.m. and tried to get into a room on the sixth floor. The victim’s wife told police that when she saw an unknown man enter their room, she ran into the bathroom, then saw the man punch her husband in the face, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported.

At that point she ran to get help, prosecutors said during Hurtado’s court appearance. When police arrived, officers found the victim on the floor. The victim’s wife was not injured.

The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office will determine how the victim died and release his name after an autopsy.

The suspect had no connection to the victim or the hotel, police said.