This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 57-year-old man died Sunday from injuries he suffered during a beating eight days earlier at an Ogden park, police reported Monday.
Scott Kaszuba, of Clearfield, had been on life support at McKay-Dee Hospital since the Nov. 26 attack at Jefferson Park, 3300 Grant Ave., according to Ogden City police.
Meanwhile, 42-year-old Michael Jason Gomez was arrested and charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault.
Investigators are now working with the Weber County Attorney's Office to amend those charges, pending autopsy results, according to police.
At about 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, police dispatchers got a call from someone who witnessed Gomez grabbing the victim by the head and slamming it into the concrete over and over, charges state.
Soon after, Gomez was seen repeatedly punching and kicking the victim in the head, "while the victim lay helplessly on the ground," charges state.
Police arrived to find Kaszuba unconscious and in critical condition.
Gomez told police he "blacked out"and did not know what happened," charges state.
His right hand and right shoe had blood on them, consistent with the victim being hit and kicked as seen by witnesses, police said in charging documents.
Among the witnesses to the beating was a family who had stopped during a car trip to "let the kids run around" at the park, according to charging documents. But after seeing the suspect beating the victim, they got back in their car and called police.
Gomez is being held in the Weber County jail.
Investigators are asking for the public's help in identifying any other witnesses who left the park before officers arrived. Anyone with information is asked to contact Major Crimes Detective Travis Kearl at 801-629-8029.