A man charged with manslaughter in Milford told police he "stomped him," according to court documents.
Officers found the body of 49-year-old Christopher Peckham Sunday night when they responded to a home on Anderson Avenue at 10:01 p.m. Sunday and have arrested, 57-year-old Ricky Garcia, who also lived at the home.
Officers were summoned to the scene when they received a 911 call reporting that a man was unconscious and not breathing.
They found Peckham lying at the bottom of a handicap ramp and he appeared to have several wounds and bruised on his face, eyes, torso, chest and legs. He also had cuts and what appeared to be recent blood on his face, nose and chest.
Nine minutes after officers arrived, Peckham was pronounced dead, according to police.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Peckham had blunt trauma to the upper torso, which caused broken ribs and other injuries and his death was ruled a homicide.
Over the next 23 hours, police interviewed witnesses and other residents, police said, and the investigation led to the arrest of 57-year-old Ricky Garcia, of the same address where Peckham was found. Officials said in court that Garcia, a longtime Connecticut resident, has multiple prior convictions.
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Court records said Peckham was passed out in a family member’s bedroom and she asked Garcia to remove him.
Garcia is accused of hitting and kicking Peckham, then dragging him outside of the home with another man, according to police.
Authorities believe Peckham was unconscious, but alive, when he was dragged outside.
Garcia told detectives that Peckham was kicking at him and he kicked Peckham “no more than two times,” then said, “I stomped him,” according to the arrest warrant application.
One witness said Garcia kicked Peckham up to 50 times” and the kicks were’ pretty freaking hard,” the arrest warrant application says.
Another witness said he saw Garcia jump up and land on Peckham with his two legs on Peckham’s stomach.
It’s not exactly clear when the assault happened, but one witness said it happened while it was still light outside.
Garcia is facing a manslaughter charge and was held on $250,000 bond. He appeared in court on Tuesday, where the judge kept the bond the same. The case is being transferred to Part A on June 4.
