A 38-year-old Palmerton man admitted to fatally stabbing his brother Saturday morning.

State police have charged Jonathan Beagle with the homicide of his brother, Jeffrey P. Beagle, 48.

Police were called to their home on the 500 block of Lehigh Avenue about 6:15 a.m. Saturday.

Jonathan Beagle initially refused to come out of the home and told police that his brother was ‘hurt really bad.’ Eventually he came out of the home carrying a knife with blood on it.

Police found Jeffrey Beagle inside the home on the stairs with a stab wound. He was transported to St. Luke’s - Lehighton Campus where he was pronounced dead at 7:39 a.m.

Some time before the incident, Jeffrey Beagle, who was mentally impaired, had reportedly warned his mother, who also lives in the house, that Jonathan had previously threatened to kill them. The Palmerton Police Department came to the house in the past to investigate the threats, but their mother said she did not think that they was serious.

Their mother left the house just prior to the stabbing. She said Jonathan had attempted to strangle her, but she managed to get out of the house. She said he then locked her out, leaving the brothers inside the house alone.

During a recorded interview, Beagle told police he thought that Jeffrey and their mother were making noise to disturb him while he slept in the home’s detached garage, and that they had locked him out of his bedroom.

He said he awoke Saturday morning to a bicycle bell sound and entered the house to get ready for work.

He said his bedroom door was locked. Then he said he heard an unknown voice, which he believed was his family’s attempt to disturb him.

He went back to the garage and retrieved a knife and stabbed his brother in the chest as he slept.

Jeffrey Beagle worked at Carbon Mini Mart in Palmerton and Palmerton Tobacco. He attended Grace Community Church in Lansford, and enjoyed caring for his dog, Billy.

Co-workers and friends held a memorial lantern release for him at Country Harvest Sunday night. About 50 people attended to donate for funeral expenses. Donations are also being accepted at the mini mart.

Jonathan Beagle was arraigned and sent to Carbon County Correctional Facility without bail.