Boulder Baseball Bat Attack Victim Dies
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – The victim of a baseball bat beating in Boulder last Tuesday has died.
According to Catherine Olguin with the Boulder District Attorney's Office, Aaron Tuneberg, 30, died Tuesday morning.
Two teens accused of beating Tuneberg with a baseball bat appeared in court Monday where they learned what kind of charges they will be facing.
Austin Holford and Luke Pelham, both 18 years old, were arrested last Tuesday. The district attorney says the victim was developmentally disabled, so prosecutors added an at-risk enhancement to the attempted murder charges on Monday. The district attorney has now upgraded the charges to first-degree and second-degree murder instead of attempted murder for both suspects. The assault charges have been dropped.
Originally prosecutors believed Holford, who believed the victim had assaulted a female friend of his, was the mastermind behind the attack and that he had convinced Pelham to help him.
According to arrest papers, Holford admitted to police he hit the victim multiple times with a baseball bat. Pelham told police he only stood watch outside with a golf club. In court prosecutors said they have new information that suggests a golf club was also used in the attack and that Pelham may have been more involved than initially suspected.
Pelham's family was in the courtroom on Monday. His friend, Katie Whiteman, spoke with CBS4 after the arrest. She was with him when he called police.
"Crying -- he was really scared and he kept saying he was worried about Aaron and he hopes Aaron is okay," Whiteman said.
Pelham's attorney asked for the judge to reduce his bond while prosecutors argued to increase bond for both suspects. The judge denied both requests.
Holford is being held on a $500,000 bond. Pelham's is set at $100,000.
