Jay Nunley
(PCSD file photo)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — An Ada man accused of fatally beating his oldest brother at another brother’s house in rural Cushing has been ordered held on $1 million bail pending his trial court arraignment on a second-degree murder charge in Payne County on Feb. 6.
Jay Lee Nunley, 55, the youngest brother, could be given a life prison term if convicted of causing the death of Dennis Nunley, 69, on Sept. 11, 2023, from a brain injury four days after he was severely beaten while all three brothers were in the W. Grandstaff Road home of Doby Nunley, who bought the property a month earlier.
During a preliminary hearing last week, Doby Nunley, the middle son, testified he was home with his two brothers when “Dennis and Jay had words. I had probably two drinks of vodka. Jay was drinking vodka. Jay started yelling at Dennis. Jay pulled him over and punched him. Dennis went to the ground. Jay was on top of him.
“I’m screaming. He finally stopped. Dennis was bloody and swollen. I got Jay off him. I turned to Jay and said he’s not breathing. I called 911. Jay went over and stood by the fireplace.
“Dennis was taken by ambulance. He never woke up. He never gained consciousness. He was on a respirator. He was not breathing on his own. He was taken off life support,” on Sept. 11, 2023, in a Tulsa hospital.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Jodie Gage, Doby Nunley testified that both of his brothers had been staying with him, “Jay for three weeks — Dennis came a few days before his death. He came from Mexico.
“I started drinking vodka about 6:30 pm. Jay had his bottle in another room. I didn’t physically see Jay drink vodka. It escalated real fast. Dennis stood up. Dennis was maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. Dennis was not a troublemaker. He would defend himself. Jay said, ‘do not look side-eyed at me.’ Dennis said he did not.”
Questioned by prosecutor Patrick Crowe, Doby Nunley testified, “Jay was a bodybuilder, probably outweighed Dennis by 135 pounds or more,” but when the defense attorney pointed out that “Dennis weighed 177 pounds, the medical examiner said,” Doby Nunley added, “Jay had been trained by an MMA professional, he told me.”
The defense attorney sought unsuccessfully to have the second-degree murder charge dismissed: “This is domestic assault and battery between two siblings living together. There is no testimony regarding a weapon. This is an argument that led to pushing between two brothers. Manslaughter in the first-degree is more appropriate. Mr. Nunley was defending himself from Dennis, who always carried a pocketknife.”
The prosecutor countered, “This was unprovoked. This defendant beat his brother to death. He was properly charged with felony murder. All Mr. Dennis Nunley did was stand up and raise his voice.”
Special District Judge Katherine Thomas then ruled that the evidence at the Jan. 11 preliminary hearing was sufficient against Jay Nunley for him to stand trial on a second-degree murder charge.
In connection with the fatal beating, Jay Nunley was arrested at 11:39 pm on Sep. 7, 2023, by Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers, who was subsequently notified that Dennis Nunley 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’s family made the decision to take Dennis off of life support,” an affidavit said.
