Man dies 16 years after beating at Milwaukee Summerfest; ruled homicide

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee County medical examiner's office says a man has died more than 16 years after he was beaten at Summerfest, and ruled his death a homicide.

The medical examiner says 49-year-old Joseph Hetzel died Feb. 28 at a rehabilitation center in Fond du Lac.

Hetzel's brother, Todd, told an investigator his brother was beaten by about five men in a fight in a parking lot at Milwaukee's Summerfest in 1996. Todd Hetzel said no arrests were ever made.

According to his brother, Joseph Hetzel was left paralyzed on one side and had a severe brain injury. The brother says Hetzel suffered another brain injury when he fell down some stairs in Hartford in 2009.

The medical examiner ruled Hetzel died of complications of blunt force injuries to his head.