Charges: Plymouth man beat his brother to death with baseball bat

Morgan Reddekopp KSTP

UPDATE: The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man killed in Plymouth Thursday morning.

Dustan Michael Markfort Spanier, 36, from Plymouth, died of multiple blunt force injuries, according to a Hennepin County Medical Examiner report. His death is being ruled a homicide.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: A Plymouth man is facing a second-degree murder charge after prosecutors say he beat his younger adult brother to death with a wooden baseball bat.

According to a criminal complaint, 47-year-old Eric Spanier called 911 around 4:24 a.m. Thursday and said he beat his brother with a baseball bat at their Plymouth home.

Court documents state that when officers got to the scene, they found Spanier standing at the end of the driveway shirtless and bloody, though he did not have any injuries. He told officers that his brother was unconscious in the garage, that he had beaten his brother with a bat, and that the bat broke.

Officers found the victim on the floor next to a cot that had blood on it, according to court records. The barrel of a baseball bat was lying next to him. The handle of the bat was found on a nearby table.

First responders didn’t find a pulse on the man, and despite CPR attempts, he was pronounced deceased at the hospital about an hour later.

The Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy and found that the victim had bruises, lacerations, and abrasions on nearly every part of his body. His cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt force injuries and was ruled a homicide, court documents state. The ME has not formally identified the victim, but the criminal complaint confirms he was Spanier’s brother.

Spanier is currently in custody.