Connecticut man accused of bludgeoning friend's head in over $30 debt

A Connecticut man is accused of bludgeoning his friend’s head in over a $30 debt and delaying a 911 call after the two reportedly spent the day drinking and doing heroin together.

Zachary Perkins, 33, of Norwich, Connecticut, reportedly hit 38-year-old Brad Bucacci, of New London, Connecticut, in the head and left him lying on the floor for hours as he died.

Perkins was charged with second-degree manslaughter, cruelty to persons and third-degree assault.

New London police responded to a report of a man who was not breathing around 9 p.m. June 8. New London Fire Department personnel reportedly provided emergency medical treatment, but Bucacci was pronounced dead at the scene.

The state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as blunt injury to the neck, and the manner as homicide, police said. During the investigation, Perkins admitted he assaulted the victim and delayed calling 911, according to The New London Day.

Police said Perkins is responsible for Bucacci’s death after medical examiners determined he “died of a blunt injury to the neck with epidural hemorrhage, which happens when blood pools between the skull and the membrane that covers the brain,” according to the Hartford Courant.

Perkins was arrested last week and ordered held on a $200,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 16, according to court records.