North Carolina Man Beats Roommate to Death With Box Fan Because He Asked for Cigarettes

A North Carolina man has been charged with first degree murder after he beat his roommate to death for asking him for a cigarette.

William Francis Bordsen, 40, called 911 shortly before 11 a.m. on Sunday and said he’d been in a fight with his roommate, identified as 65-year-old Robert Murphy, and that he “kicked his a** pretty good,” WJZY reported. First responders found Murphy dead on the scene.

Affidavit Bordsen by kc wildmoon on Scribd

Bordsen told investigators that the fight started at about 4 a.m. when Murphy, allegedly drunk, came into his room and asked for cigarettes, an arrest affidavit said. Bordsen refused and the two got into a physical altercation.Bordsen said he punched Murphy in the head several times then grabbed a box fan and hit Murphy repeatedly in the head with it.

After Murphy collapsed, Bordsen said he kicked him in the stomach and face several times, telling police those last blows “weren’t needed” and expressing some regret for them.

Bordsen allowed detectives to search his phone, where they found videos and photos taken about six hours before he called 911. In one video, Murphy was still alive but injured and lying in the same position where he was later found dead. Bordsen is heard in the videos speaking to Murphy in a “derogatory” tone, court documents say.

Bordsen is being held in the Mecklenbug County Jail on a $400,000 bond.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: William Francis Bordsen/Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office]