Pa. coroner says 64-year-old man dies four decades after assault

June 13 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania coroner's office has ruled a 64-year-old man's recent death a homicide, the result of injuries he sustained nearly four decades ago.

Craig Tschudy was pronounced dead at 11:25 a.m. on June 5 at the Inners Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Dallastown, Pa., located about 100 miles west of Philadelphia.

The York County Coroner's Office said Wednesday in a press release that the manner of death was homicide and the cause diffuse traumatic brain injury.

Thirty-eight years ago, a 26-year-old Tschudy was the victim of mistaken identity and was beaten with a baseball bat by unknown assailants while in New York City.

The assault left Tschudy with permanent traumatic brain injury, but no charges were ever filed as a suspect was never identified.

The coroner's office on Wednesday said that due to the inability to identify assailants, no charges will be filed.

"However, this is ruled a homicide in manner of death as the injuries eventually contributed to Tschudy's death 38 years late, and there is no statute of limitations in coroner cases," it said.

An obituary published online by the John W. Keffer Funeral Homes and Crematory states Tschudy went by the name PeeWee, "loved weightlifting and running around town in his wheelchair."

"PeeWee was a friendly person who spent all his life in York," it said, adding that he spent many days visiting the York City Police Department.

"He was very proud that he shot a deer in his younger years," it said.

The coroner's office said no autopsy was to be performed.