Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Beaten man died from internal bleeding

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published June 20, 2006

LARGO - Sitting at home, dazed from a violent beating at the hands of two men, James Edward Costello probably didn't know he was dying, police said Monday.

Costello's most grievous injuries were not his black eyes or bruises. Instead, an autopsy has determined that Costello, 50, suffered broken ribs and a lacerated spleen, leading to internal bleeding that ended his life five days later on May 30, said Largo police Detective Joe Coyle.

Now, in light of the medical examiner's findings, authorities have charged the two men already in custody with second-degree murder.

Daniel Luke, 42, remained at the Pinellas County Jail on Monday in lieu of $320,000 bail while Charles Garrard, 37, was being held in lieu of $302,500 bail. Both men were already being held on charges related to Costello's beating.

A spokeswoman for Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater, where Costello was treated on May 26 and released about seven hours later, said he decided to leave the hospital against medical advice.

Costello, a day laborer, was found dead on May 30, slumped in a lawn chair outside his home at Braginton Oaks mobile home park off Clearwater-Largo Road, north of Rosery Road.

The week before, he was beaten on two consecutive days, May 24 and 25, according to authorities. Police say on the first occasion, Luke alone attacked him and on the second, he came with Garrard.

Investigators have not determined what prompted the beatings.

"I can't find a motive right now," Coyle said. "I think (Luke) literally enjoyed beating people up."

Records show Luke has a long and violent criminal history, including a 1982 charge of attempted murder and robbery, of which he was later found guilty.

After the second beating, Costello initially refused medical treatment. He was later taken by friends to Morton Plant Hospital and spent the following days at home, unable to work as his eyes were nearly swollen closed.

His friends "had no idea that he was dying," Coyle said. "They figured he went to the hospital and everything was okay."

[Last modified June 19, 2006, 22:45:57]