Trial begins for second man charged in beating death

Mark Mariani was murdered in 2010. .

The second man charged in connection with the random killing of Mark Mariani was in court on Monday to answer to the charges.

Robert Reitmeier, 25, is charged with second degree murder in the death of Mariani, who was beaten to death in October 2010.

Mariani was allegedly attacked by Reitmeier and Tyler Sturrup while he was returning to his car in the parking lot of a northwest strip mall along 16 Ave. N.W.

Mariani, who suffered from Crohn’s Disease, was unable to defend himself from the attack and was found dead at his car the following morning.

In March, Sturrup plead guilty to the crime, which he said had no motive. He had simply seen Mariani in the alley near the store and decided to attack him.

Both Sturrup and Reitmeier are members of a white supremacist group in the city.

Sturrup was sentenced to ten years in prison for the murder.

Mariani’s family said that Stirrup’s guilty plea saved them from a prolonged trial.

On Monday, the jury of nine women and three men heard that the victim did not know his attackers and did not provoke them in any way.

A female witness took the stand and said Mariani was so badly beaten that he did not respond when she called out to him.

His family is in court once again and says it is agonizing to have to listen to the details of his death.

"Our life was three years ago and today's the second worst day because we have to start this all over again and it, we still don't know why, we want answers, why Mark had to die that day," said Kathy Weltzin, Mark's sister.