An Orem man has been charged with killing his girlfriend’s adult son by hitting him in the head with a metal pipe more than six months ago.

Preston Smith Marsh, 39, was charged in 4th District Court with murder Thursday. Marsh said he fatally struck Jensen Gage Harvey, 27, in self-defense, Orem police said.

According to a probable cause statement, Harvey — who was “intoxicated and belligerent” — arrived at the Orem home that his mother shared with Marsh at about 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 22 to get his dog. Harvey had repeatedly threatened to kill Marsh, Marsh told police.

Security footage shows Harvey take the dog to his car as Marsh heads to a shed behind the house. Harvey then went to the shed, followed by his mother.

According to charging documents, Marsh and Harvey’s mother told police there was a “physical altercation” in the shed, which was out of view of the security camera. They said Harvey threatened, hit and shoved Marsh, who grabbed a pipe and hit Harvey on the arm with it.

Harvey is then seen on the footage again, leaving the shed and walking toward his car, which was parked on the street. Harvey gestured toward someone off camera, and his mother and Marsh reappeared on the video.

The three argued, “pointing, posturing and pushing each other” as they walked across the driveway, according to police. The woman appeared to be trying to get between the two men and was seen “pushing them away from each other.”

As Harvey was backing up toward his car and speaking to his mother, Marsh “walked over to the victim” and struck him “twice in the head with the 3-foot, galvanized steel pipe.” Harvey fell to the ground and did not get up.

He was taken to a hospital, where he required two staples to close the wound to his head. He was diagnosed with a concussion and a minor brain bleed, according to the charges.

After being struck in the head, Harvey “developed a seizure condition.” Despite the anti-seizure medication he was prescribed, his health deteriorated, police said. On Nov. 1, 2021, he suffered a fatal seizure.

After an autopsy and a review of Harvey’s medical records, the state medical examiner ruled that Harvey’s death was a homicide caused by “post-traumatic seizure as a result of blunt force injuries to the head.”

Marsh was booked into the Utah County jail this week, where he is being held without bail.

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