One Year Later: What the 'Miami Zombie' Victim Looks Like Today
One year ago this Sunday, a 31-year-old Miami resident named Rudy Eugene spent some 18 minutes beating, stripping, and chewing the face off of a 65-year-old transient named Ronald Poppo.
Eugene was subsequently shot and killed by a Miami Police Department officer. His behavior remains unexplained.
Poppo somehow managed to survive the so-called "Miami zombie attack," and, following a month-long stay in the hospital, has since been living in a long-term care facility.
Though he was blinded and permanently disfigured by the attack, Poppo's doctors say he is happy, healthy, and is not interested in undergoing additional reconstructive operations.
In a video uploaded to YouTube by the Jackson Health System (see below), Poppo can be seen sitting on a hospital bed at Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center, strumming a guitar which he has been learning to play.
He pauses after a few notes to thank the public for its support.
"He continues to work with an occupational therapist, who taught him how to dress himself, feed himself, shower and shave," the hospital wrote in a statement on its Facebook page. "[H]e is living happily [at the long-term care facility], and adjusting to his new life."
