Jay Nunley
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — Bail has been set at $1 million for a 54-year-old man accused of second-degree murder of his oldest brother, who died of a brain injury in a Tulsa hospital four days after being severely beaten in a Cushing residence on W. Grandstaff Road, according to court records.
Jay Lee Nunley, who had been living in Ada, was arrested by Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers at 11:39 pm on Sept 7 in connection with the attack on his brother Dennis Nunley, who was unconscious when emergency personnel arrived, the affidavit said.
The sheriff’s investigator alleged in his affidavit that Doby Nunley “told me that he, his younger brother Jay, and his older brother Dennis were all in the living room of the residence. He told me that he and Jay had been drinking vodka, but Dennis was sober. He told me that Jay and Dennis had gotten into an argument about their mother who had recently died.
“Dennis and Jay were both standing, having words, and then a shoving match between the two of them started. Jay punched Dennis, knocking him to the floor and unconscious. Jay then mounted Dennis and continued striking Dennis in the face with his fist and elbow.
“Doby tried to stop the fight, but Jay continued the assault for several minutes. Jay finally got off of Dennis and sat in a chair in the living room. Doby called 911 and Cushing EMS responded. Dennis was still unconscious upon the arrival of EMS.
“I spoke with Cushing EMS, who told me Dennis had significant trauma to his face, his right clavicle sustained some type of injury in the fight, his right pupil appeared to be blown, which is usually a sign of a brain injury, and he went into cardiac arrest two times between the scene and Cushing Emergency Room where CPR was administered.
“Upon their arrival at Cushing Emergency Room, Dennis’ blood pressure reached a safe level, and he was flown by helicopter to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa,” where his condition was critical, the sheriff’s investigator alleged in his affidavit.
The next morning, his condition was still critical, the affidavit said. “He is on a ventilator with a brain injury and brain damage is likely. The brain trauma may have been exasperated due to the multiple bouts of cardiac arrest, two being in Cushing and the other when he first arrived at St. Francis. Every major facial bone was broken due to the assault,” the affidavit alleged.
In a supplemental affidavit filed after the victim died, the sheriff’s investigator wrote, “I spoke with family on Sept. 10. I learned that Dennis’ MRI scan showed an anoxic brain injury meaning he was brain dead, would never regain consciousness, would not survive without a ventilator, would require a feeding tube, and long-term medical facility care. Dennis’ family made the decision to take Dennis off of life support.
“Dennis was taken off of life support on Sept. 11 at 8:38 am and was pronounced dead on Sept. 11 at 8:52 am,” the sheriff’s investigator wrote in his affidavit.
His brother, who had initially been jailed on $250,000 bail, saw his bail increased to $1 million after the second-degree murder charge was filed on Sept. 13, court records show. Jay Nunley has been scheduled to appear in court Thursday on the charge that carries a penalty of 10 years to life in prison on conviction.
