Brownsville man charged in beating death
A Brownsville man is facing homicide charges in the beating death of an elderly man last year.
Brownsville police said John Godines, 35, was charged Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Mike Defino Jr. with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct for allegedly killing John Eicholtz, 75, also of Brownsville, in November.
Godines was initially charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct after police said he attacked Eicholtz outside a residence on High Street on Nov. 15. Those charges, however, were withdrawn Wednesday and the new set of charges were filed.
“Once we reviewed the autopsy and determined how he died, we changed the charges to include homicide,” Fayette County District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. said. “The cerebral events that Mr. Eicholtz suffered were a result of the blunt force trauma he sustained in the altercation.”
Police said they found Eicholtz suffering injuries to his face and head the night of the beating.
He was taken by ambulance to Monongahela Valley Hospital in Carroll Township for treatment and later transferred to UPMC-Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh for additional care, where he later died.
Police said they secured a warrant for Godines’ arrest on Nov. 21 and took him into custody without incident.
According to investigators, the assault was the result of a bizarre love triangle in which Godines believed Eicholtz was sleeping with his girlfriend, who is in her 20s.
Additionally, much of the assault was captured on video surveillance from a nearby business, police said.
Godines was placed in Fayette County Prison without bond following his arraignment.
Godines will face a preliminary hearing at a later date before Defino.
Heneks commended the Brownsville police for their efforts investigating the case and said that the incident remains under investigation by Brownsville police and county detectives.