Stepbrothers guilty of second-degree murder in home invasion
BEAVER (AP) – Two Western Pennsylvania stepbrothers have been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of an 81-year-old man who had a heart attack several weeks after they robbed him.
Attorneys for 27-year-old Joseph Arlott and 25-year-old Beau Chermer, both of McKees Rocks, argued that Daniel Santia’s death wasn’t directly related to the April 2012 break-in. That’s when the stepbrothers allegedly robbed, beat and bound Santia at his Hopewell Township home.
A county pathologist ruled Santia’s death a homicide since he had been on blood-thinning medication, but was taken off it due to bleeding on the brain from the attack.
A Beaver County jury convicted Arlott of the murder charge and lesser counts. Chermer previously pleaded guilty to robbery and lesser charges, but let a judge decide the murder charge, which was also announced Wednesday.
Both face life in prison.