GALLUP, NM (AP) -- A man accused of killing his uncle in Gallup now faces a charge of voluntary manslaughter rather than second-degree murder.
The body of 33-year-old Bronson Smith was found in a drainage structure Oct. 25 in Gallup, and his nephew, Emerson Smith, was arrested.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jim Bierly says an autopsy found that Bronson Smith suffered blunt trauma but died of exposure-related causes rather than from his injuries. Bierly says the state Office of the Medical Investigator said Bronson Smith could have gotten up after the fight.
Bronson Smith was one of nine people charged in a case involving allegations of misuse of nearly $400,000 in Medicaid travel funds at Gallup's Office of Human Services.
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