Suspects in Beating of Peabody War Vet Expected to Plead Guilty

Two men charged with attacking a Peabody war veteran outside a Portsmouth, N.H. bar last summer are expected to plead guilty, according to the Union Leader.

The newspaper reports that lawyers for both Daniel May and Paul Hayes of Portsmouth recently filed documents in court saying that they will plead guilty in connection with the brutal beating of Stephen Bohn. Two women also charged in connection with the attack are still scheduled to face trial.

for two counts each of second-degree assault , a 24-year-old U.S. Army veteran who received a Purple Heart when he was injured fighting in Afghanistan.

The July 16, 2011 attack, which police say occurred outside of on the Vaughn Mall, reaggravated Bohn's war injury and left him with a ruptured bladder, multiple contusions, cracked ribs and other injuries for which he had to undergo emergency surgery.

Bohn had come to Portsmouth for a friend's birthday party, according to his stepfather. He had gone on a cruise and he and his friends decided to go to The Page for a drink afterward.

Bohn was dancing with a girl when the suspects gave him some dirty looks, his stepfather said. When they started to argue, restaurant staff asked them to leave. Bohn went outside for a cigarette and the suspects followed him.

Police said May then hit Bohn from behind in the back of the head, knocking him out. May, Hayes and the two other suspects then began kicking and stomping Bohn.

Bohn's mother said at the time that 25 staples were needed for his stomach after he suffered severe internal injuries in the attack.