PITTSBURGH — The trial for a man accused in the beating death of a 73-year-old McKees Rocks man began Monday.
Branden Frazier, 25, was arrested in June 2016, just days after Benito Nicoletti’s body was found inside his Vine Street home.
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Nicoletti’s body was discovered after his family asked the police to check on him because they had not seen him, officials said. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.
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According to the criminal complaint, witnesses said they saw Frazier in and around Nicoletti’s home in the days before and after the homicide. Frazier was also linked to Nicoletti’s missing car, officials said.
Frazier is facing several charges, including burglary and homicide.
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office was seeking the death penalty in the case, but has backed away from that.
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