OGDEN — A man who was brutally beaten in a dance hall melee died Monday.

Malachi Darcey, 30, had been on life support since early Sunday when he was injured in a fight at the Outlaw Western Saloon in West Haven, officials said.

Police were still piecing together their investigation Monday, and Weber County chief sheriff's deputy Terry Thompson said officials were unsure what prompted the brawl between two groups of people.

"We're still in a very preliminary investigation," Thompson said. "We've been doing a lot of interviewing. … We would love to have some more folks come forward."

Investigators had interviewed eight potential suspects from the fight that erupted Sunday morning just after 1:30 a.m., police said. About 100 people from the two groups were involved in some extent, Thompson said. Several people were injured, including a woman officials would only identify as a "friend" of Darcey's.

Darcey suffered serious head injuries that resulted in his death, police said.

At McKay-Dee Hospital Center on Monday, Darcey's friends and family called the man's death a "tragic situation." Family members held hands, and Darcey's mother clutched at her chest, her eyes hidden behind sunglasses.

"We've been touched by the love, the prayers and the concern," the family said in a prepared statement.

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The Weber County Sheriff's Office and the Weber/Morgan Homicide Task Force are investigating a fight that broke out at the honky-tonk dance hall, located at 1254 W. 2100 South.

"We just had a fight that escalated into something else, something that doesn't usually happen at our establishment," saloon owner Ben Opheikens said Sunday, as Darcey clung to life. "Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. … It couldn't have been prevented by my staff. … We've never had a situation like this in all our history."

Detectives are asking anyone with information about what happened before or during the fight to call the Weber County Sheriff's Office at 801-778-6631 or Weber County dispatch at 801-629-8221.

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com; afalk@desnews.com

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