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Trial for stepbrothers accused of killing elderly Beaver man begins

BEAVER COUNTY, Pa. — Jury selection was set to begin in the death penalty trial of two stepbrothers charged with killing an 82-year-old man who died after they allegedly bound him and beat him with a baseball bat while robbing his home.

Daniel Santia died weeks after he was released from the hospital and taken to a rehab facility following the April 29, 2012 break-in at his Hopewell Township home.

Twenty-six-year-old Joseph Arlott and 23-year-old Beau Chermer, both of McKees Rocks, were due in Beaver County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday.

They're charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery and face the death penalty if the jury determines Santia's death was the result of first-degree murder, a premeditated killing with malice.

The defense has argued Santia's injuries were superficial, and that he died of unrelated health issues.