SALINA, Kan. (AP) A defense attorney says a man who died after a confrontation with four Salina men started the fight that led to his death.
Attorney Roger Struble made that argument in a motion filed on behalf of 20-year-old Justin Taddiken in the January 2011 death of 48-year-old Robert Unselt.
Taddiken pleaded no contest to aggravated battery in Unselt’s fatal beating. On Monday, he was placed on two years of supervised probation.
Unselt’s widow and sister disputed Struble’s account of the confrontation, saying Unselt was a peacemaker.
The Salina Journal reports Unselt’s widow is seeking $1 million in a wrongful death lawsuit against Taddiken and three co-defendants. Two of the other men have settled their criminal cases without going to trial. Charges have been refiled against the fourth man.
