Grand Jury Indicts Suspects Over Man’s Death: Indictment Reports Witness Watched Suspects Punch ‘Motionless’ Man

Grand Jury Indicts Suspects Over Man’s Death: Indictment Reports Witness Watched Suspects Punch ‘Motionless’ Man
Grand

SNOW HILL — A Worcester County grand jury last week formally indicted two local men for their roles in the death of a Pennsylvania man following an alleged brawl on a downtown street in late August.

Caleb Edwin-Earl Ochse, 27, of Ocean City, and Christopher Blake Kendall, 22, of Wilmington, Del., were indicted on several counts including manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, affray, disorderly conduct and intoxication-endanger another for their roles in the melee that allegedly led to the death of Justin D. Cancelliere, 37, of North Whitehall, Pa. in the early morning hours of Aug. 24. The victim and three others, including his cousin, were allegedly involved in a fight the seeds of which were planted in a downtown restaurant and later escalated outside on Talbot Street.

The indictment essentially forwards their cases to Worcester County Circuit Court. In the manslaughter count, the indictment alleges the pair “feloniously and with malice aforethought did kill or slay Cancelliere,” and “recklessly engaged in conduct, to wit striking the victim repeatedly while the victim was on the ground that created substantial risk of death or serious injury.”

The grand jury indictment is another step in what will likely be a long legal process. Ochse and Kendall were initially charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault, affray and reckless endangerment. The indictment added the charges of disorderly conduct and alcohol intoxication-endanger another.

Following the initial arrest, Ochse was ordered to be held on a $400,000 bond and remains in custody. On Monday, a bond review was held for Kendall and his bail was set at $100,000 and he has since been released after posting the bond. A motions hearing has been set for Kendall’s case on Dec. 2 with the trial expected to begin on Jan. 7. Ochse is scheduled to be arraigned on September 24 with the same tentative motions hearing and trial dates.

From the beginning, Ochse’s parents have contended the defendants were acting in self-defense, while the Kendall side has remained mum on the case. According to the grand jury indictment, a witness “observed the fight and saw the suspects on top of the victim and punched him three to five times while he lay motionless on the ground.”

Around 3 a.m. on Aug, 24, Ocean City Police responded to the parking lot of a hotel on 2nd Street to assist Ocean City EMS with an assault that had already occurred. Upon arrival, OCPD officers found Cancelliere unconscious and unresponsive. First responders from the OCPD and Ocean City Fire Department initiated emergency lifesaving procedures on the victim and transported him to AGH where he was later pronounced deceased.

An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has since ruled the nature of the victim’s injuries as head and neck trauma and the cause of the death a homicide. After an investigation, the OCPD determined the assault occurred in the area of Talbot Street and Baltimore Ave. Again, Ochse’s parents have contended from the beginning Caleb Ochse and Kendall were acting in self-defense at the time of the altercation between the pair and the victim and his cousin along with two other individuals.

Surveillance video from Fat Daddy’s, where the defendants and the decedent gathered just prior to the fateful encounter, shows Ochse and Kendall had at least some interaction in the restaurant prior to the altercation, but no video has been produced showing the actual fight.

The Fat Daddy’s video does paint a picture of the events leading up to the altercation that resulted in Cancelliere’s death, but is not particularly damning to any of the parties involved. Instead, the video shows the typical bustle of a late-night eatery in the early morning hours in the height of the summer season with people, including the defendants and the deceased and his group coming and going, ordering food and interacting with others in the establishment. Perhaps the most important part of the Fat Daddy’s video shows Ochse and Kendall leaving with Cancelliere and his group following closely behind.

The fateful altercation allegedly occurred shortly thereafter in the area of Talbot Street and Baltimore Ave. After the altercation, Cancelliere’s cousin and friends were able to get the victim into a cab, which took them to the parking lot of a hotel on 2nd Street where they were staying. Inexplicably, the group did not call 911 until getting back to the hotel parking lot.

In fact, it is not certain Cancelliere’s group called 911 or if the call for Emergency Services came from an unattached third party or witness. Ocean City Police and EMS arrived on the scene and after initiating emergency lifesaving measures transported the victim to AGH, where he was pronounced dead around 7 a.m., or nearly four hours after the alleged confrontation.