19-Year-Old Son Charged with Manslaughter for Allegedly Killing His Father After ‘Heated’ Fight About Plate of Food

A 19-year-old man in Florida is facing a manslaughter charge for allegedly killing his father after they got into an argument about food.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, police in Melbourne — located about 70 miles southeast of Orlando — received a call on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 19, about a man who was “unresponsive” after getting into a fight with his son at his home.

Per the affidavit, medics were first called to the home at around 10 p.m. local time, after Julien Welch-Beddoe and his father’s fiancée found the dad, 45-year-old Francis Welch, turning “yellow/pale” and “unresponsive.”

Melbourne Police Department wrote that Welch-Beddoe told medics at the scene that he and his father got into a physical “altercation” that had started out as a “heated” discussion about “food/eating.”

“Julien Welch-Beddoe stated he was making ‘a plate’ (of food), when Francis Welch got up from the couch and told him that he didn’t deserve to have it because he wasn’t working,” according to the affidavit. “Julien Welch-Beddoe stated he made himself a plate anyway, and as he was walking away towards his bedroom, Francis Welch pushed him.”

Police wrote that Welch-Beddoe said he then put his father in a headlock and punched him on the left side of his ribs two or three times. The two men ended up on the floor, and Welch’s fiancée eventually broke up their fight.

“Julien Welch-Beddoe stated he released Francis Welch after a few seconds saying he was fine,” the police affidavit continued. “[Welch-Beddoe] stated approximately five minutes passed after the altercation ended, when he heard [his father’s fiancée] screaming, ‘This isn’t a joke!’ [Welch-Beddoe] walked out into the living room and saw [Welch] on the couch with his head back and unresponsive.”

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According to police statements, Welch was taken to a nearby hospital via ambulance and later died on Jan. 20 at around 1 a.m. The Chief Medical Examiner of Brevard County found that Welch “sustained three broken ribs and a lacerated spleen that caused internal bleeding and his death. The injuries were due to blunt impact injuries,” per the affidavit.

Investigators also discovered via lab work done at the hospital that Welch had a .391 blood alcohol content at the time of his death. Police wrote in the affidavit that Welch-Beddoe was sober at the time of their fight.

The teen was charged with manslaughter and pleaded not guilty on Feb. 6.

His bond was set at $50,000 on the condition that he did not have any contact with his dad’s relatives. He is next set to appear in court on March 25.