Three men have been charged with second-degree murder for beating a Madeira Beach fisherman to death in September.

Kord Lynn Tucker, Timothy Schuyler and Joshua Eugene Shroyer had all been arrested between September 14 and 18 for aggravated battery after they boarded Michael T. Merrill's boat and beat him with hand tools and other objects.

Merrill was able to escape after the beating and was found by a friend who called for assistance. 

Merrill died on October 3 in Bayfront Hospital. An autopsy report concluded his death was caused by blunt force trauma.

Tucker, who had been release on bond, was rearrested on the evening of October 16, 2012. Schuyler and Shroyer had remained at the Pinellas County Jail.

The investigation is ongoing.