Douglas Brundle had been freeloading at his mother's Salt Lake City home for six years when two nephews last year insisted he sign paperwork to obtain Social Security disability payments.
Instead, the 51-year-old schizophrenic tore up the application, threatened to kill his nephews and lunged at one of them.
A fight ensued that left Brundle dead of brain trauma and the nephews facing homicide charges.
Following a Thursday preliminary hearing, Andrew Albert Brundle II, 26, and Brian Robert Drown, 33, were ordered to stand trial on one count each of third-degree felony homicide by assault, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
The defendants are to be arraigned March 15 before 3rd District Judge William Barrett.
On the afternoon of Sept. 7, Drown and Andrew Brundle arrived at their grandmother's home, located near 1300 North and 1200 West, and confronted their uncle about applying for disability.
The uncle ran outside, where he leapt at Drown in an apparent effort to get at Andrew Brundle's girlfriend, according to witness testimony and the defendants' own statements.
Drown grabbed his uncle in a headlock and they fell together to the ground, where Drown punched him two or three times in the face and head. Andrew Brundle joined in by kicking his uncle once in the torso.
Drown's defense attorney, John Walsh, said the limited nature of the attack was inconsistent with the victim's brain injuries, which included bleeding, swelling, torn tissue and a ruptured artery.
Walsh pointed to evidence that Douglas Brundle had been hitting himself in the head with both fists prior to the fight. But Assistant Utah Medical Examiner Pamela Ulmer testified the man could not have inflicted such severe injuries on himself with only his fists.
Neighbor Orlando Williams, who saw a portion of the fight, testified, "It looked like a schoolyard brawl. Nothing I saw looked violent."
An unconscious Douglas Brundle was taken to a hospital, where relatives had him removed from life support the next day.
Andrew Brundle's defense attorney, John West, argued there was no evidence that his client's single kick contributed to the victim's death.
But prosecutor Clifford Ross countered that both defendants had acted in concert. "We have punching and kicking of a man while he was down," Ross argued.
According to search warrant affidavit, Andrew Brundle sent a text message to Drown about 40 minutes prior to the fight with his uncle that said: "Call ur mom tell her we are on our way to grandmas im just going to beat him into a coma."
