24-year-old now faces murder charge after victim he allegedly beat at Eastern State dies from injuries

The Eastern State Hospital patient who was allegedly assaulted March 17 by 24-year-old Martay L. Ellis, also a patient, died from his injuries, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the name of the man who died, the sheriff’s office said.

Meanwhile, Ellis, a five-time convicted felon, was booked into the Spokane County Jail that day for first-degree assault, but the charge has been amended to second-degree murder since the victim died. Ellis remains in jail as of Saturday night with a $750,000 bond.

Deputies responded around 9:30 a.m. March 17 to the reported assault between Ellis and the victim at the Medical Lake hospital, according to a previous sheriff’s office release.

The patients got into an argument that led to a physical fight, deputies said. Hospital staff detained the suspect and provided medical aid to the victim before he was taken to a hospital.

Ellis was in Eastern State for a civil commitment evaluation after allegedly beating a woman in September in downtown Spokane. That victim, Tiffany Turner, was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries but later released. Officers said the attack appeared random.

A judge dismissed that felony first-degree assault charge against Ellis, deeming him incompetent because of a “mental disease or defect,” according to court documents filed Feb. 15.