OKC Man Dies From Assault Injuries After Week In Hospital

Oklahoma City police are on the hunt for the person who beat a man last week, ultimately leading to his death. Randall Ragains, 51, suffered multiple injuries, and police still have many questions about what happened.

Ragains spent a week at the hospital fighting for his life before dying early Thursday, and neighbors tell News 9 they cannot understand why someone would have targeted him.

“He was just a super nice guy that people took advantage of,” says one neighbor. “That’s how I have to look at it.”

Neighbors say Ragains was quick to help his fellow man, offering shelter to those in need on a regular basis, despite his own personal struggles. Ragains’ cousin told police he was partially paralyzed years ago after a neck injury on the job at an oil field, and got around with the help of crutches until he mysteriously lost them recently, forcing him to crawl. “He could barely walk,” a neighbor says. “I was afraid he was going to fall because he didn’t have anything to balance himself with.”

“He had some health issues already going into this situation, which apparently only complicated this more so and made him more vulnerable to whoever would have attacked him,” says Msgt. Gary Knight with Oklahoma City police.

Police initially called the assault domestic violence when they took the report from Ragains' cousin at the hospital last week, and even listed a suspect in the case. That name was redacted from public record, however, and investigators have yet to identify a suspect, mainly because they were never able to hear the story from the victim himself. Knight says, “They didn’t really get a good chance to talk to him because he showed up already unconscious.”

Neighbors fear the killer may be one of the people staying at Ragains' house, and they're now making efforts to keep unwanted guests out. A sign posted to his front door reads, “Do not enter! Place is being watched, will call 911.”

Knight says of the investigation, “They’re trying to piece together, through witnesses and family, exactly what happened to the man and why it happened.”

If you have any information about this case, call the homicide tip line at (405) 297-1200.