The heartbroken fiancée of a father who was killed protecting his 14-year-old son outside their home has recalled horrific details leading up to his death.
Tracy Karopchinsky, 44, described how Christopher Wright, 43, was murdered on his doorstep by five thugs after being dragged into a fight that started at Brooklyn Park High School and moved into his home in Anne Arundel County.
The attackers, three teenagers and two adults, continued to beat Wright, who was already unconscious and bleeding to death, before fleeing the scene. They told his 12-year-old son, ‘Sorry, call 911.’
Traces of Wright’s blood still stained the ground outside his home.
Her 14-year-old son Trenton got into a conflict with another teen at school Friday before three teens and two adults showed up. Maryland home.
Her fiancé, who was a housewife, told the group that her son would not fight, to which they are said to have replied: ‘If he’s not going to fight, then you guys will fight with us.’
Wright was then horribly beaten by the group and had his head repeatedly smashed against the concrete outside his home as his 12-year-old son looked on.
Tracy Karopchinsky holding a photo of her dead fiance Christopher Wright, 43
Trenton, 14, got into a conflict with another teen at school Friday before three teens and two adults showed up at his Maryland home. In the image: traces of blood are seen outside the house.
Pictured: Wright and two of his sons at a Baltimore Orioles game
Christopher Wright and his fiancee Tracy
He was taken to a trauma center and was pronounced dead Saturday after suffering a traumatic brain injury.
Fiancee Tracy Karopchinsky told DailyMail.com the attackers continued to beat the father even after he lay unconscious, telling her son to call 911 before getting in the car and driving away.
She said: ‘It didn’t seem like the attack was long, our last text was around 4:30pm and I got a phone call at 5:30pm that he was being loaded into an ambulance.
“According to one of my sons, he looked up and saw his dad was lying on the ground and not moving and the guy was still fighting him and hitting him while Chris was laying there.
‘Then he heard it [the attacker] Saying “Oh my God, he’s bleeding,” handed him my son Chris’s necklaces that had somehow come off and said, “Sorry, call 911.”
“My youngest son ran out screaming and they got in their car and drove off.”
Wright’s son, Trenton, had been in multiple fights at school before the group tried to approach him at home. He was suspended from school Monday after a separate fight.
One of the fights, which occurred on Wednesday, cost more than $30. A boy, who was unrelated to the fatal attack, is said to have approached Trenton at school and said, “I stole $30 from your girlfriend.”
The 14-year-old then tried to get the $30 back and punched the teen.
Karopchinsky said: ‘Trenton was walking near the school and a kid came up to him and said ‘I stole $30 from your girlfriend’ or something.
‘He had the money in his hands. Trenton went to get the money and, in reaction, hit the boy. He hit him once and that was it.
On Friday, when he returned to school, he was being harassed by a group of teenagers, who were some of those who showed up at his door.
School officials acknowledged that the fight had taken place and said they would work to address the issue.
Christopher Wright, 43, was dragged into a fight that started at Brooklyn Park High School and moved into his home in Anne Arundel County, his fiancée Tracy Karopchinsky claims.
Recalling the hours leading up to the horror, Karopchinsky told DailyMail.com: ‘My son went to school, Chris had to reinstate him because he had been suspended for something else. He was involved in multiple fights throughout the day, someone came into his classroom to fight, and a teacher had to pull the boy off.
‘He made it, he got home, he went upstairs to tell his big brother what was going on all day. They heard voices outside his room upstairs and the children were outside, these were my son’s friends before the incident.
‘His father came in and said that his friends are here, he told them that these are not my friends. Chris came out, told them he wasn’t coming out to fight you. They said if he doesn’t come out, we’re going to go into the house and we’re going to fight them there.
‘Chris told them he’s not going out and you’re not going into my house. So they said ok you are going to fight.
“They started fighting, and the end result was Chris not leaving.”
‘These children are fourteen years old and had two adults, family members of the children. The police have the names of all the people, I know that the investigation is a process and the police are actively involved and doing everything.
Neighbor Richard Balsamo, 58, said the dad was a nice guy
Fiancee Tracy Karopchinsky explained what happened before the ordeal
‘The school is taking all its measures, my children are not going back to school, it’s done. These children are going to high school next year. I have spoken with the high school about next steps.
‘[Trenton’s] the guilt is immeasurable he feels this is his fault so just help him get over the loss of his father and also let him know it’s not his fault.
‘I had no reason to fight these people and I didn’t want to. When he got to the shock trauma, they said he had severe damage to the right side of his brain, which had eventually turned into a catastrophic brain injury.
“He had a stroke, brain hemorrhage in the brain stem and that was it.”
Chris, who fathered Tryston, Trenton and Tevin, has since been cremated and the family plans to celebrate his life during a memorial on June 11.
Neighbor Richard Balsamo, 58, said: ‘Chris was a nice guy. He didn’t bother anyone. He stayed on his porch, he took care of his garden, he took care of his children. For someone to come here and take him away from his girlfriend and his children is ridiculous and wrong and something needs to be done.
Karopchinsky stressed the devastating effects her husband’s death would have on her children and the children who attacked him.
Pictured: Christopher Wright, who died of his injuries following the incident last Friday.
Christopher Wright, 43, who died after suffering a brain injury when he was struck outside his home.
‘It has shocked the neighborhood. He is a very good guy and very good with his children.
His sister-in-law, Kristin Karopchinsky, created a GoFundMe, who explained that Wright had come out to defend her son Trenton, who had been threatened.
She said at her fundraiser that he was hit in the head before he repeatedly smashed onto the concrete.
School officials acknowledged that the fight had taken place and said they were working to address the issue.
They are working with the police on the investigation.
Karopchinsky stressed the devastating effects her husband’s death would have on her children and the children who attacked him.
She said: ‘They didn’t just ruin our lives. Their lives will change forever. Their parents’ lives are going to change forever, and no one thinks about it just because of a fight.
“It’s everywhere and somewhere, we as parents are failing these kids.” […] It is not the responsibility of the school. It is our responsibility,’ she said.
Anne Arundel County Police said they are investigating and charges could be filed against the individuals involved.
Anne Arundel County Police spokesman Marc Limansky said: “Anyone who aided, abetted or abetted the prime suspect or the prime suspect will be guilty.”
Police have said charges could be brought against those involved in the brutal assault. A local official confirmed that no weapons were used in the attack.