Apple Valley man is beaten with bat, dies

Last update: March 16, 2008 - 11:29 PM

An Apple Valley man was beaten to death with a bat and his 31-year-old friend was in custody after a fight early Sunday at a Lakeville townhouse.

Lakeville police were called to a Hampshire Circle home at 6 a.m. Sunday on a report of a man who had been hit with a blunt object. There they found Joshua Jay Skare, 33, not breathing, with no pulse and with blunt-force wounds. Paramedics performed CPR, but Skare was pronounced dead at the scene.

The friend, who had called 911, was arrested and told officers he hit Skare with a bat while the two were fighting.

The two longtime friends had been out together earlier, police said.

Charges in the case are pending. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting in the investigation.

ABBY SIMONS

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