An Auburn man has been charged with second-degree murder after prosecutors say he punched another concertgoer outside the White River Amphitheatre in August, causing fatal head injuries, according to newly filed King County charging documents.
Prosecutors allege 31-year-old Devin Brice McCurdy struck Brandon Godsey, 34, once in the face after a brief argument as crowds were leaving the venue following a concert.
Witnesses told investigators that Godsey fell backward, hit his head on the pavement, and never regained consciousness.
He later died from his injuries at Harborview Medical Center.
According to the medical examiner’s report cited in the documents, Godsey suffered multiple skull fractures and bleeding around the brain, and his death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt-force head trauma.
Investigators interviewed several witnesses who described a chaotic scene in the parking lot as concertgoers exited.
One witness said a man wearing a gray hoodie approached Godsey during an argument and punched him “knocked out in the air and fell with full force onto the ground.”
Another described McCurdy as a white male in his early twenties with light brown hair and facial hair.
Godsey’s fiancée, Brandy Rutherford, told detectives they had been arguing with security guards moments before the assault and that the attack appeared unprovoked.
She said the man who punched Godsey taunted her afterward, saying, “You don’t talk to my friends like that.”
Detectives later obtained a warrant to trace McCurdy’s phone, which showed he had traveled to Alabama shortly after the incident.
Prosecutors wrote that his movements suggested he fled the state following the assault.
McCurdy is currently in the Lawrence County Jail in Alabama, awaiting extradition back to Washington State.
A GoFundMe has been organized to support Godsey’s family: Brandon Godsey Memorial Fund.
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