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TOOELE — A manslaughter charge was dismissed for a man charged after his roommate, who was known to suffer from asthma, died following a fight between the two.
Prosecutors Wednesday made the motion to drop the case against Monty Shane Degelbeck, 53, in the death of his roommate, 28-year-old Christopher Warr. Degelbeck was facing a second-degree felony manslaughter charge.
According to police, the two roommates were arguing July 31 about a mess in their Tooele home, 70 S. Broadway Ave. Apt. B, when the fight turned physical. Warr stopped breathing as they fought, possibly suffering an asthma attack, police said.
While a witness at the time told police Degelbeck grabbed Warr by the throat and pressed down on him with one hand, leading him to stop breathing, a motion filed last month by Degelbeck's attorney, said a medical examiner's report disputes the claim.
"The medical examiner did not observe any trauma to the throat or neck of Mr. Warr, and determined that Mr. Warr died as a result of his 'severe asthma,'" defense attorney Lindsay Jarvis wrote in the motion, which sought release of Warr's medical history.
Jarvis' motion was granted, and 3rd District Judge Robert Adkins ordered Warr's medical records to be released by Oct. 15.
Related:
Tooele man dies following fight; roommate charged with manslaughter
A fight between two roommates Sunday night over "a mess in the house" ended with one man dead from an apparent asthma attack and another in jail and charged with manslaughter, police said.The charge against Degelbeck was dismissed without prejudice, meaning prosecutors retain the option to file the case again.
At the time of his arrest, Degelbeck was booked for investigation of murder in his roommate's death. However, as prosecutors began investigating the case they stepped back to a lesser manslaughter charge.
Degelbeck told police he let Warr go after the man began struggling to breath. Degelbeck's girlfriend said she "separated the two and assisted with getting the victim his asthma treatment," according to a Tooele County Jail report.
"The victim got to his feet but continued to struggle breathing," the report states. "The victim sat in a chair and attempted a nebulizer treatment but lost consciousness."
