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Farmington • On an October day last year, Teresa Beauregard was with her husband driving to get breakfast when they happened to witness a disturbing scene: A large man covered in blood was repeatedly punching and kicking another man outside of a Bountiful home.
Beauregard testified at a preliminary hearing Wednesday that she witnessed the vicious beating from her vehicle, and called 911 to alert police to the fight.
"He was large," the woman recalled about the aggressor. "He was angry. He was bloody."
Police believe that aggressor was 35-year-old Heneli (Henry) Kalainisi Kaufusi, who is charged with first-degree felony murder after 37-year-old Sione Mangisi died from injuries sustained in the Oct. 14 beating. The victim was the ex-husband of Kaufusi's girlfriend.
After hearing evidence and testimony from several witnesses, 2nd District Judge John Morris ordered Kaufusi to stand trial on the charge.
Beauregard testified that she saw the aggressor punching the victim, kneeing him in the chest, stomping his head and kicking him. During the attack, she heard the larger man yell, "F— you!" and "My house!" repeatedly.
"I was scared," she testified. "I was afraid if we stayed we would be hurt as well … I just wanted it to stop."
The attack occurred in front of a Bountiful home, located in the 3500 block of Lexington Drive, where Mangisi's ex-wife and children live, along with Kaufusi, police say.
Beauregard testified that she couldn't keep count of the number of punches thrown by the larger man, and said the victim hardly moved and didn't appear to fight back. She said that before the larger man left the victim, it appeared he took a photo of the beaten man on a cell phone.
Police believe Mangisi came to the home to see his children, but have said they do not know what sparked the confrontation.
A responding officer saw Kaufusi with bloody hands and clothing, a ripped tank top and a cut under one of his eyes. Both men were placed in handcuffs.
Bountiful Police Officer Michael Sheldon testified that he was the first officer on the scene, and noted the injuries to Kaufusi's eye and the extensive injuries on Mangisi.
"I could not decipher his eyes from his nose from his mouth [because] his head was so swollen," the officer recalled.
Sheldon said he knew the injuries were serious when Mangisi asked for water — because thirstiness is a sign of a "very critical" patient, he said.
The officer said the victim died on the scene while receiving medical attention.
Utah Assistant Medical Examiner Pamela Ulmer testified that the victim died of blunt force injuries to the head and torso, but said Mangisi's cardiovascular health may have also contributed to his death. She ruled the manner of death as homicide.
Kaufusi is expected in court again on Feb. 22 for an arraignment.