BOSTON, April 20, 2012—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley and Boston Police Commissioner Edward F. Davis are asking the public to be on the lookout for a fugitive murder suspect wanted for the fatal beating of 47-year-old Michael Costa in East Boston.

JEAN TORRES VARGAS (D.O.B. 2/2/81), more commonly known as “Tyson,” has been indicted for first-degree murder in Costa’s death late last year. He stands about 5’5” tall, weighs about 175 lbs., and has brown eyes and brown hair. He has a large and distinctive tattoo on his left shoulder and upper arm, as well as a series of parallel scars on his right forearm.

Jean Vargas Torres, aka "Tyson," is wanted for murder

Authorities say Costa and a friend were waiting for a bus on Meridian Street in East Boston on the afternoon of Nov. 2, 2010. Costa noticed Vargas nearby and pointed him out as someone with whom the friend had a prior dispute. Vargas allegedly overheard this exchange and approached the two men.

Evidence suggests that Vargas physically assaulted both men, knocking Costa to the ground. Vargas allegedly continued to kick and beat Costa, at one point even bracing himself with a nearby fence as he stomped on the man.

Costa was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital with serious injuries. He remained hospitalized for the next 13 months, dying of complications from those injuries on Dec. 17, 2011.

In the aftermath of the beating, prosecutors indicted Vargas on two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon – a shod foot and the cement sidewalk. When state pathologists declared Costa’s death a homicide earlier this year, they sought and obtained an additional indictment charging him with first-degree murder.

Authorities ask anyone who sees Vargas to call 911 or the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470. Members of the public are urged not to approach the suspect.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.