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Vincent Chin in the Bronx

For Mr. Li's family, his death means he will never see his son graduate from an American college, a dream he had cherished since he left Shanghai and his work teaching literature six years ago. And it means he will never see his wife immigrate from China to join him, a dream he had hoped to realize this year.

Yesterday, as Mr. Li's son, a freshman at the University of Connecticut, and other family members tried to arrange an emergency visa so his wife could attend the funeral, they were outraged by another loss, this one seemingly at the hands of the criminal justice system. The authorities said that while his attacker had been arrested, a wrinkle in the law would prevent them from charging him with a crime more serious than misdemeanor assault.

"He's dead. How can it be just assault? It's murder," said Mr. Li's nephew, Chi Zhang, 25, who also worked in the liquor store, which is owned by Yau Kam Lam, 43, Mr. Li's cousin. "You're going to tell me that's not murder?"

The police and prosecutors said yesterday that they, too, were troubled that the law would not uphold more serious charges. But, they said, they could not prove intent, the key element for a more-serious charge.

"We, as average citizens and the police, we view the laws as a means of protecting law-abiding citizens," said Deputy Chief Joseph J. Reznick, who oversees detectives in the Bronx. "However in the this case, it appears to support the opposite."

Edward Talty, the chief of the homicide bureau in the office of the Bronx district attorney, Robert Johnson, said that to charge murder or a more serious crime, prosecutors would have to prove intent to cause death or serious physical injury, which he said they were unable to do.

Shortly after the attack, the man and woman who the police said fought in the store, Inez Sanchez, 22, and Jason Quiones, 20, and the man who they said punched Mr. Li, Hasani Best, 21, were arrested about two blocks away after they robbed a security guard, officials said.

Mr. Best, of 1515 Macombs Road in the Bronx, was charged with third-degree assault. Ms. Sanchez, of 545 East 144th Street, and Mr. Quinones, of 593 East 141st Street, were charged with petty larceny and third-degree burglary for going into Mr. Li's enclosure after he was hit and stealing several bottles of liquor, the police said.

Yesterday, there was a shrine outside Mr. Li's store, created by regular customers and neighbors. One regular customer, Peter Kane, who said he had known Mr. Li since he came to this country, added a votive candle to about a dozen in the plastic milk crate that served as the makeshift shrine.

"He felt comfortable in this neighborhood because everyone knew him," Mr. Kane said. "But he always would come out and talk to people. I told him many times, `Don't come out, especially at night.' This place might look friendly, but at night, things change."