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Leroy Taylor died at the scene...
One man was stabbed to death at a motorcycle club in Battle Creek, and another man - who was found with a stab wound to his neck - is now behind bars and facing a murder charge.
Just before 6 a.m. on New Year's Day, Battle Creek officers went to the Iron Coffin Club on Gilbert Street because of a call about a stabbing. When they arrived, they found Leroy Taylor dead on the floor.
The other man, Matthew Starkweather, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of his stab wounds, and later arrested for Taylor's murder.
Investigators continue to look into the case.
A Battle Creek man was arrested on charges of open murder Sunday after a fight at the Iron Coffin Motorcycle Club resulted in another man's death.
Mathew Thomas Starkweather, 32, could be charged in the death of Leroy Taylor, 45, of Battle Creek, who was killed in an altercation around 5:56 a.m. Sunday at the Iron Coffin clubhouse, 15 Gilbert St. The exact cause of Taylor's death is still unknown.
"The medical examiner hasn't been there yet," said Detective Sgt. Austin Simons of the Battle Creek Police Department. "We can tell he's got some trauma to the face."
Police also have two people of interest that they want to interview in the case, Simons said. Taylor's wife was present during the altercation.
Starkweather, who suffered from a stab wound, was taken via Lifecare Ambulance Service to Bronson Battle Creek, where he was treated and released. After gathering evidence and interviewing Starkweather, police lodged Starkweather in the Calhoun County Jail.
Taylor's death marked the first homicide of 2012. Last year, the first death from a homicide occurred in early August.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20120102/NEWS01/201020305/1002/NEWS01
