He cut off his brother's fingertips with a hedge trimmer and used an ax to cut off his left leg below the knee, police said.
Police: Man accused of killing brother said he knew it would end violently
A Fawn Township man accused of fatally shooting his brother predicted things would end violently between them, a state police trooper testified.
Justin David Carbaugh, 21, gunned down 23-year-old Brandon Shawn Carbaugh outside their 712 Ridge Road home on Aug. 4, police allege.
Following a preliminary hearing Friday morning, District Judge John Olwert determined enough evidence exists for Justin Carbaugh to stand trial on a charge of homicide.
Trooper Thomas Grothey was the only person to take the stand at the hearing. He was one of two troopers who questioned Justin Carbaugh after his arrest, and Grothey testified as to what the defendant said.
"He said he knew this day was going to come ... one of them was going to kill the
other," Grothey said.
Justin Carbaugh told troopers Brandon Carbaugh "would flip out all the time" and that Justin Carbaugh would be the one to walk away from their arguments, Grothey testified.
"(Justin said) they were always fighting and arguing all the time," Grothey said.
Carried guns: According to Grothey, the defendant said both he and his brother routinely carried handguns.
On the evening of Aug. 4, the brothers argued about Brandon Carbaugh growing marijuana on the property where they lived with their grandmother, according to Grothey.
Justin Carbaugh stated he walked out of their home and toward the woods to get away from his brother, according to Grothey, but Brandon Carbaugh -- who was armed -- followed
him.
The brothers continued yelling, arguing and threatening each other, according to the trooper.
The defendant told investigators Brandon Carbaugh then got in front of him, leaving the two face-to-face and only three or four feet apart, Grothey said.
The defendant related that Brandon Carbaugh put his hand to the gun in his holster and asked, "What the f-- are you going to do about it?" Grothey testified.
'Freaked out': "Then Justin related he just freaked out," Grothey said,
pulled his own .40-caliber handgun and shot Brandon Carbaugh in the chest.
The force of the gunshot spun the victim around, and Justin Carbaugh fired a second shot into the back of his brother's head, according to Grothey.
Brandon Carbaugh ended up lying on the ground, face up, the trooper said.
"Justin Carbaugh told me he knew he had to finish the job at that time," and shot his brother in the forehead, according to Grothey.
During cross-examination, defense attorney Steve Rice confirmed with Grothey that the physical evidence at the scene was consistent with Justin Carbaugh's statements to police. He also got Grothey to confirm that police talked with the defendant about voluntary manslaughter, and how it's an unplanned
killing.
Heat of passion? Grothey also agreed that Justin Carbaugh's statements indicated he might have fired in "the heat of passion."
After the hearing, Rice said he must still talk to witnesses and review the evidence collected by police.
"I will say this: I think there are very real and live issues about whether self-defense is in play or, alternatively, voluntary manslaughter," Rice said.
Homicide is a general charge, and prosecutors will have to announce which type of homicide charge they intend to try the defendant for. The most serious charge is first-degree murder, the least serious is involuntary manslaughter.
In addition to homicide, Justin Carbaugh is also charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with
physical evidence. No testimony was taken for those two charges because the defendant waived his right to a preliminary hearing on them.
Partially dismembered: Rice said that was to spare the Carbaugh family -- some of whom were in the courtroom -- the painful details that would have been presented.
State police said that after killing his brother, Justin Carbaugh tried to destroy and conceal the body.
He cut off his brother's fingertips with a hedge trimmer and used an ax to cut off his left leg below the knee, police said.
Justin Carbaugh later told police he "couldn't go any further," so he wrapped his dead brother in a tarp, duct-taped it and left the body where it was, charging documents state.
He remains in York
County Prison without bail.
As Justin Carbaugh was led out of the district judge office Friday, he did not respond to a question from The York Dispatch.
Read more at www.ydr.com
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