Utah man accused of beating friend to death with can of soup

A Utah man is dead and another is in jail, accused of beating his friend to death with a can of soup.

On Saturday, a 14-year-old boy called 911 to report that the 37-year-old suspect and another man were fighting at a Castle Dale home. According to a probable cause statement, the boy said the suspect was beating the victim “pretty bad,” and that he believed the victim was dead.

When an Emery County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived at the home near 100 North and 300 East, the suspect told him that the other man was fine, and that the blood on his hands and shoes was his own, the document states.

However, the deputy found “a lot of blood in the hallway” and the victim “lying face up in a pool of blood.” The man — whose name has not been released — had no pulse, appeared to have been “beaten severely,” and a “can of soup” appeared to be the weapon used to kill him, the document states.

According to a probable cause statement, the suspect “stumbled” when the deputy arrived, and the deputy “had to hold him from falling” because he was intoxicated.

The 14-year-old told authorities that the suspect and the man killed had been drinking together when the suspect tried to get the boy to drink alcohol. The boy said he refused, and the suspect backhanded him, cutting his lip and knocking him to the floor. When the second man tried to intervene, the suspect attacked him.

The child left the home and called authorities from a nearby business.

The suspect was booked into Emery County jail on suspicion of murder, child abuse, and obstruction of justice. He is being held without bail. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name defendants unless they have been formally charged with a crime.