Police: Man assaulted before body found in Corvallis

CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — Two Corvallis men are charged with assaulting a transient man hours before the man’s body was discovered in a Corvallis park in September.

The Gazette Times reports that (http://bit.ly/2frcBMK ) 49-year-old Roy Edwards and 48-year-old Andre Tucker pleaded not guilty to assault and other charges during separate hearings last week in Benton County Circuit Court.

The body of 50-year-old Stephen Mathews was found Sept. 10. Police believe Edwards and Tucker separately punched or hit Mathews before he died. But a Corvallis police investigation wasn’t able to determine whether the assault contributed to his death.

According to probable-cause statements, Edwards punched Mathews in the head several times, apparently mistakenly believing that Mathews had exposed himself in front of his girlfriend. Prosecutors say Edwards also assaulted another man. Witnesses also reported seeing Tucker hit Mathews in the face and head.

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Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com