An Oklahoma man who killed his stepfather by giving him an "atomic wedgie" during a drunken brawl was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.
Brad Lee Davis, 35, had hoped for a term as short as four years when he pleaded guilty to asphyxiating Denver Lee St. Clair in 2013 by pulling the elastic waistband of St. Clair's underwear over his head and around his throat. But the judge on Thursday imposed the sentence sought by prosecutors for first-degree manslaughter.
Davis, a former Marine, said he'd acted in self-defense because St. Clair allegedly threw the first punch. He also claimed that he was only trying to embarrass his stepfather by attempting the prank seen in school locker rooms and on an episode of "Seinfeld."
According to Davis, the fight, which happened just a few days before Christmas, erupted because St. Clair had insulted Davis' mother while the two men were drinking together.
But investigators testified that Davis yanked the elastic band over St. Clair's head after he was knocked unconscious in the fight. The prosecution said that St. Clair would have died from the head injuries alone even if he hadn't choked.
Photos on Davis' phone taken before and after the wedgie showed that the crime scene had been altered, investigators also said.
Authorities also alleged that Davis sent a text message to a friend before the fight, writing that he would hurt St. Clair because he had "nothing to lose."