A Danish man has been sentenced to seven years in prison after he killed his brother by shoving potatoes down his throat during a drunken fight.
Prosecutors said that the younger man killed his 57-year-old sibling by strangling him by hand and forcefully pushing potatoes down his throat.
The younger brother also punched the elder brother repeatedly in the head and neck.
Local newspaper NordJyske said that the killer was acquitted of manslaughter but was found guilty of violence causing death for a fight that happened in November last year.
The 55-year old called an ambulance to say that his brother was lying unconscious in their shared house and rescue personnel arrived to find the elder man dead with a potato stuck in his windpipe.
The younger brother was arrested shortly thereafter.
Yesterday, the Hjørring District Court was split on the defendant’s actions.
Three jury members and three judges felt that there was enough evidence to convict the man on manslaughter charges while three other jury members believed that the man had not intended to kill his brother.
The jury heard that the man had tried to get the potatoes out of his brother’s throat before calling for an ambulance.
With the jury in disagreement, the man was convicted on the lesser charge of violence causing death.
The defendant contended in court that his brother had either gotten two potatoes stuck in this throat by accident or had attempted to kill himself due to the fight. The court was not satisfied with either explanation.
