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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man who police say punched and pistol-whipped another man before pushing him down a flight of stairs more than a year ago, killing him, has now been arrested for investigation of manslaughter.
Diego Antunez, 23, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday.
On Jan. 17, 2021, about 4:45 a.m., West Valley police were called to an apartment near 2900 South and 2400 West on a report of a man not breathing. Officers found Marco Antonio Magana, 21, who, despite lifesaving efforts, died at the scene.
Antunez, who was the person who called 911, told police that "they were drinking alcohol and that he found Marco standing up, hunched over at the bottom of the stairs on a four-level apartment complex," according to a police booking affidavit.
Initially, no marks or bruising were found on Magana's body. But an autopsy by the Utah State Medical Examiner's Office "showed that Marco's cause of death was blunt force trauma to his head, which caused a large fracture on the skull area, resulting in a brain bleed," the affidavit states.
After receiving allegedly conflicting information from Antunez, detectives learned that other people were also at the apartment that morning.
"Three separate witnesses told the investigating detective that they observed Diego beating on Marco as Marco tried protecting himself after a verbal argument broke out," according to the affidavit.
The argument started inside an apartment five to seven hours prior to police being called, investigators learned.
"Marco went outside to get away from Diego and Diego followed him and continued punching Marco. At one point, Diego had a gun and pistol whipped Marco in the head area," the affidavit alleges.
The two men then moved closer to an outside staircase.
"While Marco's back was facing toward the stairs, it was reported that Diego kicked Marco and Marco flew down the stairs, hitting his head on the cement platform. Diego picked Marco up and assisted him in walking back into the apartment. Marco later died because of the head trauma he received," according to the affidavit.
Antunez was arrested Wednesday after police say he admitted to pushing Magana down the stairs.
