Two men who allegedly dragged 18-year-old Kemoni Miller with a car while robbing him last week now face murder charges after Miller died Wednesday from his injuries.

Dejon Barnes, 18, of Dorchester, and Kenneth Ford, 23, of Roxbury, were initially charged with unarmed robbery following the Nov. 16 incident in Dorchester, according to a statement Friday from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police.

Miller died at Boston Medical Center Wednesday morning after spending four days on life support, officials said. Charges against Barnes and Ford were updated later that day.

Investigators believe Miller negotiated to sell an iPhone XS to Barnes online before meeting with him and Ford — who were in a car rented by one of Ford’s friends — on Gallivan Boulevard.


“From the passenger’s seat, Barnes allegedly took the phone and closed his window on Miller’s arm as Ford accelerated at a high rate of speed,” officials said. ” Miller was dragged about half a mile and suffered a life-threatening head injury when he fell from the car.”

Miller never regained consciousness, prosecutors said.

Investigators determined Barnes offered to buy the phone while Ford drove the car by reviewing “cell phone records, text messages, witness statements, video footage, and other evidence,” according to authorities. The two were arrested at a West End party early Sunday morning.

Barnes and Ford were held on $100,000 cash bail during their arraignments Monday on the unarmed robbery charge.

Their arraignments for the murder charges had not yet been scheduled as of Friday morning, but both men are expected to appear in court on Dec. 4, prosecutors said.