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Man Kills Stepfather With Atomic Wedgie

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on May 14, 2015 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

An Oklahoma man will now face prison time after killing his stepfather ... with an atomic wedgie.

It isn't even close to being a joke, even though it sounds like one. Brad Lee Davis was charged with murder of his stepfather, Denver St. Clair, after a drunken family brawl left the older man dead from asphyxiation.

Davis has pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter and now awaits sentencing.

The Fight

According to police, Davis and St. Clair had been drinking beer at the stepfather's house, reports the Daily Mail. St. Clair then began badmouthing his wife and Davis' mother, calling her worthless. Davis, in defense of his mother's honor, attacked St. Clair and gave him an "atomic wedgie."

For those of you who don't know, an atomic wedgie consists of pulling a person's underwear band up far past comfortable limits. In St. Clair's case, Davis stretched St. Clair's elastic waistband over his head and around his neck. The older man was strangled and died of asphyxiation. Investigators claimed that the underwear left ligature marks on St. Clair's neck.

Murder vs. Manslaughter

Davis was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter. What's the difference?

Murder

Oklahoma law states, "A person commits murder in the first degree when that person unlawfully and with malice aforethought caused the death of another human being."

Because the statue includes the words "and with malice aforethought," just the intentional act of killing somebody is not murder. To be murder, the actor must have had the intent to do so beforehand, also known as premeditation.

Manslaughter

In the case of manslaughter the statute defines it as "perpetrated without a design to effect death, and in a heat of passion, but in a cruel and unusual manner, or by means of a dangerous weapon." In simpler terms, this means that the person did not have the prior intent to kill, but instead acted on a whim or provocation.

In Davis' case, this means he did not plan to kill his stepfather when he went to St. Clair's house that day. However, he became so enraged by St. Clair's statements about his mom, that it drove him to attack and kill his stepfather. This is why his case is involuntary manslaughter instead of murder.

While Davis has yet to be sentenced, Oklahoma law mandates a minimum of 4 years in prison for first degree manslaughter.

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