A Hamptons head caddy who was ‘mangled and bloody’ on the front porch of a colleague’s house died after a ‘tussle’ with the man he considered his ‘best friend,’ according to a lawyer for the colleague facing a manslaughter charge in his death.
Kevin Somers, 45, was found dead on February 5 at the home of Marc Dern, 34. They both worked together at the exclusive Maidstone Club in East Hampton.
A lawyer for Dern says the pair were ‘best friends’ and conceded that there may have been some ‘roughhousing’ between them before Somers died.
‘These are best friends. Their families are friends. There was a lot of alcohol involved on everybody’s part. There was some kind of a tussle and this fellow has passed,’ Dern’s lawyer John Ray told the New York Post.
‘It’s a calamity of the first order. Nothing that happened was intentional.’
The pair were both drinking and watching a golf tournament when a violent altercation ensued between them, according to prosecutors.
Dern lives in Springs, an enclave in East Hampton where homes prices average at $1.25 million, according to Realtor.
An East Hampton town trustee says the body of Somers, who had a 17-year-old daughter, was so ‘mangled’ and bloody that first responders barely recognized him.
Dern was arrested and charged on Thursday with one count of manslaughter in the first degree.
A lawyer for Marc Dern, 34, (above) says he and Kevin Somers were ‘best friends’ who may have been ‘roughhousing’ before Somers was found choked to death on Dern’s porch earlier this month
Kevin Somers, 45 (above) was found so bloody and ‘mangled’ that first responders had trouble recognizing him, according to a town trustee
The pair had worked together at the exclusive Maidstone Club in East Hampton, which costs $10,000 a year for full membership plus an annual $3,000 in food costs
East Hampton town trustee Ben Dollinger said Somers’ face was ‘mangled and bleeding’ and that first responders barely recognized him
A gravesite funeral service for Somers is being held on Sunday. He is survived by his daughter and his wife, Alicia Osborne.
‘Kevin’s face was so mangled and bleeding that the EMTs who knew him his whole life couldn’t recognize him. He lost a lot of blood,’ Ben Dollinger, an East Hampton town trustee, told the Post.
During the argument, Dern was said to have punched Somers in the face before putting him into a chokehold and asphyxiating him after breaking a small bone in his throat, as noted by the Southampton Press.
Police officials also claim that Dern had left Somers on the porch for about three hours before calling emergency services.
But Dern’s lawyer is fighting back against that accusation, admitting only that there ‘might have been some roughhousing’ between the two colleagues.
During Dern’s arraignment, prosecutor Keliann Kelly said that the pair had been drinking and watching the tournament before his wife asked for Somers to leave so she could put the couple’s two young children to bed.
She said that following the tournament the pair had began arguing at around 7.30pm which later turned violent with Dern violently punching Somers in the face and placing him in a headlock.
Kelly added that the autopsy report revealed that Dern broke Somers’ hyoid bone in his throat, which had asphyxiated him.
He also was said to have told police he felt his friend’s body go limp before he had died.
In response, Dern’s lawyer John Ray argued that Kelly had no real time frame of when the fight occurred as the altercation may have ensued closer to when the 911 call was placed at 10.40pm.
He also noted that there was no evidence to suggest that Somers had been asked to leave the home following the tournament.
READ RELATED: Pharmaceutical company admits supplying contaminated feed
In addition, one of the first responders noticed that Somers’ skin was still warm to the touch when he was found at the scene.
The fight was said to have started following the tournament after Dern’s wife asked Somers to leave as the couple’s two children had to be put to bed
‘If a man was lying from 7.30 to 10.30 dead, his skin would not be warm,’ Ray noted. ‘That’s just common sense.’
Somers was then transported to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Somes and Dern worked together at the Maidstone Club, an exclusive country club where full membership starts at $10,000 a year, according to Hamptons publication Dan’s Papers. Members are also expected to pay at least $3,000 a year for food.
Notable members include Jets owner Woody Johnson and singer Paul McCartney, the Post reports.
Kelly, the prosecutor, counteracted Ray’s statements by noting that an Uber trip to pick up Somers had been cancelled and that Dern had asked his wife to turn off the security cameras.
Somers’ body was said to be warm at the scene despite reports that his body had been laying on the porch for three hours
She also said an additional Uber was called to pick up Dern, who was said to be carrying a backpack at the time.
However, Dern whispered ‘no’ to Ray when Kelly had raised the issue with the Uber.
Ray then acknowledged that he did not consider his client to be ‘an evil man’ as he had cared for his mother when she was dying of cancer and was a loving father to his two children.
He even noted that Dern was ‘close friends’ with Somers as the pair had gotten along well.
However, a $500,000 cash bail was still set for Dern by Southampton Town Justice Karen Sartain.
Ray has since requested the amount be lowered to $50,000 as he does not pose a flight risk and has been cooperative with police orders.
However, Kelly requested the bail be set at a $1 million cash bail due the violent nature of the crime.
A GoFundMe page has since been organized to create a scholarship in Somers’ honor with a goal of $50,000
A GoFundMe page has since been set up for Somers with plans to start a scholarship in his honor.
It has raised close to $36,000 as of Sunday morning.
‘In honor of Kevin Somers’ life, this site has been created to continue his legacy of sporting excellence for local student-athletes,’ the page read.
‘All who knew Kevin were aware of his enthusiasm, compassion, dedication, and generosity towards family, friends, and community. In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting a donation to The Kevin Somers Scholarship fund.’
Event planner and caterer Peter Ambrose said Somers was ‘always positive’ and ‘ridiculously fit’ in an interview with the Post. He also said he loved to watch Jeopardy.
‘He raced home to watch Alex Trebek’s last show,’ he said.
Longtime Maidstone member Joe Kazickas wrote in a Facebook tribute: ‘An excellent golfer, Kevin was also a level-headed guy who knew exactly how to take care of the people he was engaged to be responsible for, the caddies and the members.’
Source:
