This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 25-year-old Utah man has been charged with manslaughter, accused of killing his sister's boyfriend during a fistfight last month.
Cole Pedersen was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with the second-degree felony, which carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
Blake Burningham, 24, was killed in the Aug. 29 assault. Burningham had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend that turned into a physical assault, Unified Police Department Detective Jared Richardson said in a news release. The girlfriend called Pedersen, her brother, to pick her up at a nearby school, according to a jail document.
"Cole said when he picked up his sister, she was crying," according to the jail document. "Cole said he decided to return to… talk to [Burningham]."
Pedersen and his sister arrived at a Herriman home, in the 5900 block of West Moon Shadow Drive, where he and Burningham began arguing and got into a fight outside, according to police.
Pedersen allegedly struck Burningham with a closed fist to the head. Once Burningham fell to the ground, the brother allegedly got on top of him and continued to punch him until another person pulled him away, according to a probable cause statement filed in court.
"Burningham was unconscious and never resisted or fought back," Unified Police detectives wrote in court records.
Officers were dispatched to the scene a little before 1 a.m. and a neighbor was performing CPR on Burningham when they arrived, according to UPD officials.
Burningham was flown to a nearby hospital and was put on life support, but died the next day.
A Utah medical examiner concluded that Burningham died from blunt force trauma to the head, noting that the man suffered a broken nose and bruising in the mouth, along with bruising on the left of his head and face.
No court dates has been set as of Wednesday.
Twitter: @jm_miller