A Utah man reportedly beat his friend to death with a can of soup

The suspect is being held without bail at the Emery County Jail.

One man is dead and another is in prison accused of beating his friend to death with a can of soup.

On Saturday, a 14-year-old boy called police and reported that the 37-year-old suspect and another man had been arguing at the victim’s Castle Dale home. According to a probable cause statement, the boy said the suspect punched the victim “quite badly” and believed the victim dead. When an Emery County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at the home near 100 North and 300 East, the suspect informed him that the victim was fine and that the blood on his hands and shoes was his.

However, the officer found “a lot of blood in the hallway” and the victim was “lying face up in a pool of blood”. The victim – whose name was not released – had no pulse and appeared to have been “severely beaten”. His face and head had collapsed,” police said – and a “can of soup appeared” to be the weapon the suspect used to kill him.

According to a probable cause statement, when the sheriff’s deputy arrived, the suspect “stumbled” and the officer “had to hold him by the fall” because he was “intoxicated.”

The 14-year-old told police the suspect and victim had been drinking together and that the suspect tried to get the boy to drink alcohol with him. The boy said he refused, and the suspect backhanded him, slit his lip and threw him to the ground. When the victim tried to intervene, the suspect attacked him.

The teenager left the victim’s home and called police from a nearby business.

The suspect was sentenced to the Emery County Jail on investigations into murder, child molestation, obstruction of justice and intoxication. He is being held without bail.

The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name suspects unless they have been officially charged with a criminal offense.