A routine shopping trip to Walmart ended in tragedy for 77-year-old Bert Atienza after a dispute with a teenage employee allegedly escalated into a violent attack.
Atienza was shopping with his wife, Josephine, at a Walmart in Norfolk, Virginia, on June 7 when the couple had an encounter with a 17-year-old employee. According to Josephine, the employee came down the aisle with a shopping cart and nearly hit her. Bert confronted the teen and questioned why she had not apologized.
The argument reportedly continued briefly before the couple walked away. Josephine told local news outlet WTKR that the teen then allegedly threw a can toward them and called her parents.
Minutes later, the teen's parents, Travis White and Erika Mitchell, allegedly found the couple inside the store. Surveillance video reportedly shows the pair approaching Bert in an aisle before he was shoved, punched and kicked. Josephine said she watched in fear as her husband was knocked to the ground.
Bert was still conscious for a short time and spoke to his wife, but he soon lost consciousness. He was taken to a hospital and died the following day from blunt head trauma. Medical officials ruled his death a homicide.
White, 44, and Mitchell, 42, were initially charged with several offenses, but the charges were later upgraded to second-degree murder, according to court records cited by The Post. Both remain in custody without bond.
Their attorney has disputed the murder allegations, saying the parents did not intend to kill Bert and that the confrontation erupted after their daughter called them while distressed. The teen employee has also been charged with multiple offenses and is being held in juvenile detention.