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MIAMI HERALD
Matthew Gorzynski Although younger than his brother, Matthew Gorzynski was bigger and stronger. And, when the brothers got into a fight, 14-year-old Matthew wouldn't stop punching 15-year-old William, defense attorney Glenn Roderman said Wednesday. That's when William reached for a steak knife, hoping to defend himself. ``He tries to scare him away, but [Matthew] goes after him again,'' Roderman said. ``And this time, [William] hits him with the knife in the chest, one time.'' Matthew collapsed; William called 911. When Coral Springs police arrived, they found Matthew in the bedroom, bleeding. ``It was an accident,'' William blurted out, according to a police report released Wednesday. The teen then asked, ``Is he going to be OK?'' An hour later, Matthew was declared dead at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale. William has been charged with second-degree murder. The defense attorney said his client did what he could to help his brother, applying pressure to the wound just as he was instructed to by the 911 operator. He even told the operator where the knife could be found. Police have not released the tape of the 911 call, saying it is evidence because William confessed to the dispatcher. Now the Gorzynski family is preparing to bury one son and defend another. ``This is a brother he loved,'' Roderman said of William. ``They were very close. They went to school together, one grade apart. They had common friends, the same school activities.'' DAY OF THE KILLING William was in the 10th grade at J.P. Taravella High; Matthew in ninth. After taking the bus home from school, they let themselves into their home in the 1700 block of Northwest 92nd Way. Their father was at work, Roderman said, and their 19-year-old brother Timothy also was gone. The boys got into a fight and Matthew turned up the volume of his music. Tensions grew. When Matthew wouldn't turn the volume down, William did, Roderman said. An angry Matthew came after him, punching. The younger brother was strong -- he liked to lift weights. Not so William, who would rather cook, Roderman said. Matthew kept swinging, Roderman said, forcing William into the kitchen corner where he grabbed the steak knife. ``I really think I have an innocent boy here,'' Roderman said. While William didn't show any physical scars when he appeared in a Broward court on Tuesday, Roderman said the teen had shown him a welt on the left side of his head and where a swollen jaw made it hard for him to bite. ``It's a real loss, a terrible loss, to the whole family,'' Roderman said. ``One brother is dead, and the other has serious charges hanging over him.'' According to the police report, the smell of marijuana was in the house when rescuers arrived. However, a police spokesman said none was actually found. The Florida Department of Children & Families has had ``prior involvement'' with the family and was reviewing its investigation, but would not comment further, according to The Associated Press. THE COMMUNITY Matthew's death shocked Coral Springs, a suburb typically associated with tidy streets and soccer leagues. It was also the city's second stabbing in a month involving teenagers. In September, a 12-year-old boy stabbed a 13-year-old, who survived the attack. ``I think that our community has a sense of maybe a bubble bursting,'' said Mayor Scott J. Brook, who in response has worked on plans for open forums on teen violence.
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