Man Found Dead On Broomfield Street Was Strangled
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) — An Adams County forensic pathologist says a 34-year-old man who was killed during an altercation at a friend's Broomfield home was strangled to death.
Michael Arnall says in documents presented in court Friday that James Clifford Fernandez sustained several head wounds, but the ultimate cause of death was strangulation. Arnall, who conducted Fernandez' autopsy, says a person would have to be subjected to about three to five minutes of strangulation before dying.
Investigators say 32-year-old Matthew P. Burnett told them he found Fernandez in a "compromising position" with his wife at the couple's home before he punched him in the face and shoved him in the chest, which caused Fernandez to fall back and hit his head on a small table.
The Broomfield Enterprise reports Fernandez' body was found on a street Aug. 17.
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