Protective dad bashed to death defending daughter

A father was horrifically beaten to death after confronting a lifelong friend and his son for allegedly assaulting his teenage daughter.

A New Jersey father was savagely beaten to death by a lifelong buddy and his son after he confronted the pair for allegedly battering his teenage daughter, according to cops and family members.

Louis ‘Gus’ Serbeck, 54, was killed on Easter Sunday after he and his 19-year-old daughter Brooke went to the Vineland-area home of Eric Hannah, 55, and son Jacob, 17.

Brooke claimed they had left her with two black eyes after beating her up when she spent the night there, the Serbeck family told The Post.

Serbeck intended to speak to the elder Hannah – Serbeck’s friend since high school – about the situation, but when the front door opened the “extremely aggressive” teen allegedly socked him in the face, a Cumberland County criminal complaint alleges.

The teen then started destroying Serbeck’s pick-up truck with a metal baseball bat – smashing a window — and when Serbeck tried to stop it the boy allegedly turned the bat on him.

As his daughter looked on in horror, Serbeck was beaten to his knees and then Hannah joined the fray with a “large metal flashlight” – bashing his pal “several times” in the back of the head, according to court docs.

Serbeck’s brother said the devoted father is remembered for his kindness and willingness to do “anything for anyone.” Picture: Facebook

Brooke was even “struck in the head” during the fight, allegedly by the teen accused of assaulting her the day before, prosecutors said.

She managed to separate her father from the others and help him stagger back to his truck, and when he slumped against it barely able to breathe Hannah and his son allegedly advanced again — this time with a hammer – before Serbeck finally collapsed.

Cops were called to the scene and attempted to revive Serbeck, but he was declared dead on the way to a hospital, authorities said.

But the Hannah family tells a vastly different side of things – claiming that Brooke’s bruises came from her own drunken antics, and that when she lied to her father about what happened he threw the first punch at the teen boy.

“This all started on Saturday at 3am in the morning,” said 14-year-old Alana Hannah, who said Brooke was hanging at their house with friends that night.

When the family tried to throw her out, Alana said Brooke started shoving people and pulling hair.

“So I punched her in the face,” Alana said, laying claim to the black eyes. “I honestly wouldn’t have punched her if she didn’t grab my hair, but she grabbed my hair, so I punched her.”

Brooke was eventually thrown out, Alana said, but the next day she showed up with her furious dad – who she said threw the first punch.

From there it devolved, Alana said, with her brother grabbing a bat to defend himself while Serbeck went for a length of pipe, the Hannah family claimed.

The two circled and swung at each other in the yard – with Brooke even jumping in and pulling more hair, Alana added.

But at no point did anybody clobber Gus over the head with a bat or a flashlight, Alana claimed – insisting that everybody thought he was having a heart attack when he collapsed.

“It makes me feel almost sick,” Alana said. “It just feels unreal because I was there, and I just think that it’s horrible that one person can lie about something and now this whole story is out there, just because one person said something.”

Louis Serbeck was beaten to death with a baseball bat and a metal hammer after confronting his daughter’s alleged abuser. Picture: Gofundme

Brooke Serbeck seen with injuries on her face. Picture: Supplied

The girl said she even filmed most of the fight and gave the footage to police – which prosecutors cited as evidence of the homicide charges in their criminal complaint.

Serbeck’s younger brother, Christopher, is still trying to understand what happened – and said Serbeck’s death has left a huge hole in his family.

“To have someone you’ve known your whole life kill you, it just don’t add up,” Christopher said, explaining that Serbeck and Hannah regularly worked on boats and dirt bikes together.

“And to know my brother, if somebody came out of the door in a threatening manner, they never would have made it past his left hand,” Christopher added, insisting that the Hannahs started the fight.

“I’ve seen him fight five guys at the same time and never have a problem. There’s something that wasn’t right about that day.”

Friends of Serbeck — described in his obit as a skilled carpenter and enthusiastic flat-Earth conspiracy theorist and an “invincible” family man known for his “mythic” personality – were stunned by what happened, but not surprised that he fought to the death for his family.

“That was his baby girl. His kids were everything to him. He wasn’t looking for a fight. He just wanted to know what happened to his daughter,” Christopher said.

Serbeck was a father of two daughters, and grandfather to two boys whom he spoiled endlessly, the family said.

“Gus would be anywhere, Home Depot, Walmart, the flea market, and he’d see something he had to buy for his grandsons. He enjoyed nothing more than spoiling those boys,” his obituary read.

“Gus’ daughters and grandsons were his pride and joy. Bigger than the Legend that is Gus; they are the cornerstone of his legacy,” it added.

Hannah was booked into the Cumberland County Jail, and faces homicide charges.

His son was taken to a juvenile facility, and prosecutors are still determining whether he will be charged as an adult.

This story first appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.