Man charged in deadly fight at Hotel Monaco

A New Mexico man has been charged with involuntary manslaughter after a fight at the Hotel Monaco Downtown in December ended in death.

Pittsburgh police charged Jared Skillman, 30, of Santa Fe, N.M., in connection with the death of Jacob Brown, 41, of Burgettstown, who was found lying face down in the eighth floor hotel hallway on Dec. 14.

According to the criminal complaint, Mr. Brown died as a result of strangulation caused by a chokehold.

Mr. Skillman was in Pittsburgh with two other men that weekend to attend the Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills football game.

The incident began when Mr. Skillman heard a woman yelling from a nearby room at the hotel, where he was staying. When he went to investigate, he encountered an “agitated” Mr. Brown, according to the complaint.

Mr,. Skillman told police he urged the woman, who was crying, to leave, which she did.

About 25 minutes later, Mr. Brown banged on Mr. Skillman’s door and wanted to know where the woman was. The two men ended up getting into a scuffle and rolling around on the hotel floor.

During the struggle, Mr. Skillman admitted to putting Mr. Brown in a rear naked chokehold until he passed out after Mr. Brown began biting his arms, according to the complaint.

Mr. Skillman conceded that “he had no formal training in Martial Arts, however does claim to be a fan of UFC [fighting using mixed martial arts],” the complaint stated.

An unconscious Mr. Brown was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.