{"id":12070,"date":"2026-03-19T18:07:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T00:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/second-man-dies-in-cortez-veterans-park-beating-case\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:31:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:31:23","slug":"second-man-dies-in-cortez-veterans-park-beating-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/second-man-dies-in-cortez-veterans-park-beating-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Second man dies in Cortez Veterans Park beating case"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Robert
Robert Salt (left) and Nikhona Holiday (right) are suspects in the murder of a man in Veterans Park on Wednesday night. Two other victims are in the hospital.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

A second of three men badly beaten during assaults at Veterans Park last summer has died. In court Thursday, prosecutors said the death could reshape the charges against Robert Salt.<\/p>\n

Anthony Hill, 56, died Sunday, according to medical examiner records in Maricopa County, Arizona. The cause and manner of death are pending.<\/p>\n

Curtis Benally, 40, died soon after the incidents from blunt-force trauma on Aug. 20, 2025. A third man, Bilbert Tsosie, 61, was seriously injured and remains alive, according to court records.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege Salt carried out a series of brutal, escalating assaults at the public park, leaving first responders to discover a bloody scene and the three men found unconscious: Benally, Tsosie and Hill.<\/p>\n

Testimony from a prior hearing described Salt stomping and standing on victims\u2019 heads in a manner the state argues showed \u201cextreme indifference\u201d to human life. Salt is charged with multiple counts, including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first- and second-degree assault, along with habitual criminal counts. A detective testified that 20-year-old Nykhona Holiday was present throughout the assaults and admitted participating.<\/p>\n

According to testimony, Holiday told investigators Salt initiated the beatings and threatened her life if she did not participate. Other witnesses recounted him saying, \u201cthis is what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defense requests delay after Anthony Hill\u2019s death<\/div>\n

Salt appeared Thursday afternoon in Montezuma County Combined Courts for an arraignment hearing. His public defender, Benjamin Krumpelman, requested a delay, citing Hill\u2019s recent death and the likelihood prosecutors will amend the nine charges.<\/p>\n

Deputy District Attorney Justin Pierce said the state is \u201ctrending\u201d toward filing another complaint with new charges and is waiting for additional findings from the death report.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest problem \u2013 we don\u2019t have a definitive answer \u2026 before we amend the complaint,\u201d Pierce said.<\/p>\n

Before Hill\u2019s death, prosecutors said Salt was offered a plea deal of second-degree murder with a 45-year prison sentence, which Salt and his attorneys did not accept earlier this year. Plea negotiations between Holiday\u2019s attorney and prosecutors are ongoing, according to her March 12 hearing.<\/p>\n

Pierce suggested setting a trial date could help move along pending DNA analysis through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which has a backlog of cases. District Court Judge William Furse declined, citing the likelihood of amended charges.<\/p>\n

At the defense\u2019s request, the court read Salt\u2019s nine counts aloud.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you understand the advisement I have given you? I understand it is a lot of aggravated counts,\u201d Furse asked.<\/p>\n

Through his attorney, Salt said he understood and had no questions.<\/p>\n

Montezuma County Coroner George Deavers said autopsies are conducted outside the state\u2019s jurisdiction when a person dies across state lines while receiving medical care.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said they have spoken with Hill\u2019s family, who understood the delay. Thursday\u2019s courtroom was full of observers.<\/p>\n

Salt\u2019s plea hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. May 5.<\/p>\n

awatson@the\u2011journal.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prosecutors say charges against suspect Robert Salt could change<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-12070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12070"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18584,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12070\/revisions\/18584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12070"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=12070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}