He was booked on suspicion of murder, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. Elderly Thai man in San Francisco killed by teen in unprovoked attack. Monthanus and her parents subscribed to a Buddhist belief that, after death, the soul takes 100 days to reach the afterlife. Who is Antoine Watson? His wife suggested that he have some coffee first; he told her he wouldnt be gone for long, whispering so as not to wake the kids. San Francisco News, Weather, Safety, Sports - NewsBreak Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. ), The next morning, Eric called the tip lines for several local news stations and left messages for reporters, inviting them to the Hall of Justice, where he and Monthanus were scheduled to meet with homicide detectives. Due to the pandemic, the court had reopened at limited capacity to an enormous backlog. If you miss Grandpa, she told him, go to his photo and say hi. Troy walked up to two framed portraits of his grandfather that now hung side by side on the wall. And in a way I kind of am. This is in part because the defendant already faces a long prison sentence, and also because, as one prosecutor put it, its impossible to know whats in someones heart. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in June that federal prosecutors declined to pursue hate-crimes charges in about four out of every five cases from 2005 to 2019, citing insufficient evidence.. Eric and Monthanus being interviewed by a local TV station outside the Hall of Justice in San Francisco in July. The rallies had become a place where the couple could not only feel less alone in their grief but also seek answers they couldnt seem to get elsewhere. Preliminary Hearings Begin in Murder of Elderly Anza Vista Man, Packing The San Francisco District Attorneys office stated on Monday, February 8, that their detention plan to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. One witness at the scene told officers that he saw a Black male, 18 to 30 years old, approach and stand over an elderly man lying on the ground. As Monthanus poured the water, she felt her breath shorten, bit by bit, until she was gasping for air. 3 min read. The grandmother of a teen who senselessly pushed and killed a Thai grandfather has said her grandson should walk free. She shut the laptop and told Titus to leave the room. Ratanapakdeewas walking in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on the morning of Jan.28 when he was violently shoved to the ground in whatBoudinreferred to as "a horrific, senseless attack". ", When asked outside the courtroom what she wanted to see happen, Watson's grandmother said, "To see him walk out this door like I'm walking out right now.". As he was escorted out of the courtroom, an older woman later identified as his grandmother shouted, "I love you Antoine! Suspect to stand trial for shoving death of Vicha Ratanapakdee News of a viral outbreak in Wuhan had started circulating in the international news media. Within one week of the websites start, Stop AAPI Hate received 673 reports of verbal and physical attacks, as well as other forms of harassment, like spitting, coughing and online threats. And the fact that another human being would do that to an elderly senior in our community is one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen," said the mayor. Its nonstop, you know? She thought about the people she had met at the rallies who had quit their jobs to patrol or speak out full time. Wheres Grandpa? Troy asked her. hitType: 'event', }); Grandmother of teen who killed elderly Thai man says - Resonate Others have injured or killed people without saying a word. }); But in practice, proving bias is difficult, especially when theres no explicit expression of it. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Security footage showed the assailant R hitType: 'event', She heard him say severe trauma. The officer said she would have to call the hospital to find out more. VIDEO: Teen brutally knocks down elder in deadly unprovoked attack },false) It looked like blood, but she wasnt sure. The day after Monthanus and Eric's first TV appearance, San Francisco's district attorney charged Antoine Watson, the 19-year-old accused of shoving Vicha to death, with murder and elder abuse . document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ The court system, which they thought would deliver swift justice, was confoundingly slow. In each instance, the bystanders appeared to do nothing. Still, at a time when demands for racial justice have rocked a demographically evolving nation, the killing of Mr. Vicha was notable for the galvanizing anger it brought to a diverse group that encompasses people of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South Asian and Southeast Asian heritage. But the steps were nearly empty. Then, in a jacket, jeans and a white baseball cap, he slipped out of the apartment, down two flights of stairs and into the foggy morning. He was cited by the San Francisco police for running a stop sign and reckless driving and then slept that night in his car. Im fine, even if hes in a wheelchair or doesnt wake up, she said. Vicha Ratanapakdee, an 84-year old immigrant from Thailand, was preparing to go on his early morning walk in the quiet Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco on Saturday, January 28, 2021. A surveillance video captured what happened next. He died of a brain hemorrhage in a San Francisco hospital two days later. Monthanuss body went numb. In the footage, Ratanapakdee, who was originally from Thailand, can be seen walking in the driveway of a house when the suspect suddenly sprinted towards him and knocked him to the ground before casually walking away in the same direction he came from. Pa, can you hear me? she repeated. She wakes up crying; she goes to sleep crying, Steiner said. Maylasia Goo also arrested. Ratanapakdee was walking in the Anza Vista neighborhood of San Francisco on the morning of January 28 when 19-year-old Antoine Watson ran across the street and violently shoved him to the ground. In the absence of any sense of resolution, the couple began searching for clues on their own. window.adsContainer = {"positionAfterTitle":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position2":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position3":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Below_Next_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle1_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle2_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position7":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle3_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle4_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position10":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle6_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position11":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle7_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position12":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle8_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position13":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle9_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position14":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle10_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position15":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle11_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position16":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle12_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"positionTop":{"code":"Article_Desktop_970x250_Header_Rel","isOrganicUserAd":false,"max_width":970,"max_height":250},"positionBottom":{"code":"Article_Desktop_Sidebar_Bottom_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":300,"max_height":600},"positionBottomRight":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280}} She had learned small details about the suspect from her initial conversations with the police: male, 19 years old, African American. Monthanus Ratanapakdee praying for her father, Vicha, at the Nagara Dhamma Temple in San Francisco on Monday. Hundreds of people hold a rally Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022, in San Francisco and five other U.S. cities to remember the death of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Its been a year of pent-up anger and frustration directed toward Asians, he says. But maybe were going to be hurt forever anyway.. Crime data from the district attorney offices in San Francisco County and Alameda County, which includes Oakland, show that people of Asian descent were less likely last year to be victims of crimes than other ethnic groups. That Antoine was still young. After Vicha died, Eric says, he saw so many videos, video after video of attacks in the news. Amy Ratanapakdee thanked San Francisco police for quickly finding and arresting 19-year-old Antoine Watson and 20-year-old Malaysia Goo for her father's attack and subsequent death. Since her fathers death, she and Eric agreed that no one would go out at night without him. Update: Suspect In Brutal Assault That Killed Elderly San Francisco Man I want to know what happened. Antoine didnt wake up Jan. 28, 2021, with the idea of shoving somebody down and killing them, regardless of their race or gender. San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has sparked outrage on social media after telling the New York Times that 19-year-old Antoine Watson was "in some sort of a temper tantrum" when he . His comments tugged at a bigger, messier debate about race that had been building around the attacks. }); To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. Some assailants have yelled slurs while throwing a punch or slashing at their victims with a knife. Monthanus was alone in the room with her sister on FaceTime. "Our officers identified our suspect as 19-year-old Antoine Watson of Daly City. 'Very open to the idea': Julia Wandelt takes DNA test to verify if she is missing Swiss girl Livia Schepp, Kayla Lemieux: Teacher with prosthetic Z-cup breasts suspended WITH PAY after pics show her dressed as man, Michael Schneider: Psychic detective gives '100%' verdict on whether Julia Wandelt is Madeleine McCann, Lindsay Clancy case: Psychologist reveals psychosis red flags family members could have spotted, 'I'd be horrified if my kids did that': Internet slams eight-year-old's pregnant mom for enabling 'disgusting' behavior. The Thai grandfather had just survived his heart surgery 9 months before, and his doctor told him to walk daily for his exercise. Monthanus didnt hesitate. Saturday evening at approximately 8:45 p.m., officers served a search warrant on the 500 block of Lisbon Street in Daly City and located Watson and Goo, who were arrested without incident. Monthanus squatted and scrubbed as her mother poured a jug of water over the concrete, the headlights shining behind them. Instead, he paused for a moment and turned right, as though whatever caught his eye made him decide to change course. His orange jumpsuit fit loosely over his tall frame, chains linking his wrists, his hair growing out. There is absolutely zero evidence that Mr. Ratanapakdees ethnicity and age was a motivating factor in being assaulted, Nawabi said. LAPD INVESTIGATES KOREATOWN ASSAULT ON AIR FORCE VETERAN DENNY KIM AS POSSIBLE HATE CRIME, According to theTimes, Boudin saidthatRatanapakdee'sdeath was heinous, but that there is no evidence to suggest the attackwas motivated by racial animus. Initial investigation by SIT/General Crimes Unit identified the male suspect as 19-year-old Antoine Watson of Daly City and the female associate as 20-year-old Maylasia Goo of Daly City. For months Mr. Vicha had been pining to return to Thailand but was unable to because of the pandemic. New images have continued to surface on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis. After the funeral, Monthanus and Eric hired a therapist to help Titus he had not cried and seldom said anything about the episode. Two days after Vicha died, Eric created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the funeral, which included a photo of Vicha and a description of his assailant derived from a mix of facts and raw emotion: A despicable 19-year-old thug that came to his neighborhood in a stolen vehicle and decided to prove how tough he was by brutalizing a senior citizen, Eric wrote. She knew what he would say if he were here now. Her father had been assaulted and taken to a hospital, a police officer said. Wans group, Community Youth Center, responded by opening a new office in Bayview-Hunters Point, where the attacks occurred. Our seniors are afraid to walk their own streets, Mr. Chan said. The Oakland attacks came as many in the Bay Area began changing their social media photos to bring awareness to the seemingly unprovoked killing of an 84-year-old Thai man in San Francisco last month. Three monks carried piles of orchids and roses, a framed photo of Vicha and a forest green box holding his remains. A preliminary hearing for the man accused of fatally pushing Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco last year commenced on Tuesday, reigniting calls for justice and an end to anti-Asian violence. Watson was apparently vandalizing a car when Ratanapakdee looked at him and changed directions on his walk, Connolly said in his detention motion, citing surveillance footage from the scene. On January 28, 2021, 84-year-old Thai man Vicha Ratanapakdee was knocked to the pavement and killed in San Francisco's Anza Vista neighborhood. Kevin Kunishi is an American photographer living in Oakland, Calif., who is known for creating long-form projects that explore aftermath, trauma and identity. A monk leaned over and gently shook Vichas ashes into the lapping waves. Monthanus offered me a pastry and asked if I had seen the latest news, about the 64-year-old Asian woman in Riverside, Calif., who was stabbed in the stomach while walking her dogs and later died of her injuries. In order to raise 10 children in the San Francisco Bay Area, we should assume Antoine Watson's parents make at least $300,000 a year. pg.acq.push(function() { Everybody I talked to said it was from a Black person, he told me. He left his home because of a family dispute and got in a traffic accident in San Francisco at 2 a.m. You can dial 311 or 911, she reminded them. They scrubbed the sidewalk with brushes and wondered why no one from the city had come to do the same. Around the same time as the Oakland rally, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who represents the Bay Area, and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) also denounced the "white supremacy . eventAction: 'click_image_ads' For a short while, Monthanus half believed it, too. I think a lot of that grief and anger and scapegoating continues to be directed toward Asians.. In March, a man waving a Laotian flag told a small crowd at a protest in San Mateo, Calif., that Vicha reminded him of his grandparents, who collected cans to get by, which was why he decided to go on the front lines and patrol Chinatown in Oakland. 84-year-old Thai grandfather brutally pushed over and killed by "Racism has once again proven deadly" An elderly Thai man was knocked down and killed by a teenager in San Francisco. San Francisco News, Restaurants . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Her hope was for all people to work together, and not blame each other. It was the first court appearance of 19-year-old Daly City resident Antoine Watson since he was arrested for the assault this past weekend. It's common sense, and we knew his intention. I was like, There is something going on here. At the first few rallies they attended, Eric casually surveyed attendees, asking whether they had ever been spit on or pushed and what the race of the perpetrator was. In Thailand, the killing was front-page news and described as barbaric, a life cut short in a family where siblings typically live into their late 90s, relatives say. 84 Year-old Thai Man Brutally Attacked and Killed in San Francisco / CBS San Francisco. SF teen who killed 84-year-old man by shoving him to pavement pleads not guilty. eventAction: 'click_adunit' An 84-year old man is dead after a horrific daytime attack in San Francisco's Anza Vista neighborhood. Im a bad daughter, she would say. An elderly San Francisco man was killed in a 'brutal' attack. His Around midnight, after Eric and the boys went to bed, the two women drove to the corner with a bucket, gloves and a dish brush. [1] [2] [3] The assault was captured on a CCTV camera . ga('ads.send', { CONTACTS:. Watson and his associate, 20-year-old Malaysia Goo, were arrested on January 30 without incident. }); "But when you cross that line, when you commit murder, when you take someone's life like that, we as a city and as a society have to hold you accountable for your actions. An assailant, later identified by police as 19-year-old Antoine Watson, came barreling . San Francisco police were quickly able to identify Watson as the assault suspect. He didnt take anything from my father, not even the tablet, she says. There will be consequences. She wanted to be strong for her sons, but she had trouble sleeping at night and broke into tears unexpectedly. When she finished, the defendant lifted his glasses and wiped his eyes. Everyone fell silent. Believe Attack Was Racially Motivated., Vichas story joined a cluster of reports about attacks on Asian elders in four cities. Verbal harassment made up 70.9% of incidents while shunning or avoidance comprised 21.4% of the incidents. For Sarah Wan, a community organizer who has been helping victims of violence in San Francisco, the debate brought back memories from 2010, when hundreds gathered outside City Hall to protest a series of similar reports. Two days after the attack, Ms. Monthanus and her mother went to the spot where Mr. Vicha was killed and saw that his blood still stained the pavement. Why you looking at me? and then a crushing sound., Watson pleaded not guilty. The streets were quiet. In the weeks since it happened, Mr. Vichas death has become a symbol for the vulnerability that many in the Asian-American community feel in this moment. Security footage, circulated widely on the internet, shows a man running towards Vicha and throwing him violently to the ground before turning around and fleeing, according to KTVU Fox 2 News.. Vicha died in hospital in the early hours of Saturday and soon after, police reportedly charged a 19-year-old man, Antoine Watson, with murder and 20-year-old female friend, Maylasia Goo, with being an . This unfortunate assault has to do with a break in the mental health of a teenager. Watson is accused in the deadly attack of Vicha Ratanapakdee in the city's Anza Vista neighborhood on January 28. Youre going to survive, Dad, Monthanus told him. During one appointment, the therapist asked if he felt angry, and he replied in that sheepish preteen way, I dont know. Monthanus knew the extra sessions were probably a lot, on top of school, weekend Thai and coding classes and the therapist he already sees to manage his A.D.H.D. The grandmother of a teen who senselessly pushed and killed a Thai grandfather has said her grandson should walk free. }) But it also drew criticism for effectively endorsing more policing at a time when law enforcement faced intense scrutiny, as well as for failing to address the root causes of racism or crime. Vicha had lost so much blood by then that even if a second operation succeeded, he would almost certainly lose his most basic functions for the rest of his life. One witness at the scene told officers that he saw . Police haven't said anything about a possible motive but they have arrested 19-year-old Antoine Watson and charged him with elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon and murder. Investigators interviewed some 100 people and reviewed 175,000 computer files, some of which indicated that the gunman had visited white-supremacist websites. His brother, Surachai Ratanapakdee, 89, now the only surviving sibling of eight children, remembered Mr. Vicha as studious and curious about the world outside the rice paddies, watermelon fields and orchards of the family farm. But he says there is no evidence to suggest it was motivated by racial animus. Family of 84-year-old killed in SF believe attack was racially motivated The way he greeted her with relief when she came home late from work. She said: You are not a victim. Then, on a brisk and misty Northern California winter morning last month, he stepped outside. eventAction: 'view' Klicken Sie auf Alle ablehnen, wenn Sie nicht mchten, dass wir und unsere Partner Cookies und personenbezogene Daten fr diese zustzlichen Zwecke verwenden. If Watson is convicted of murder, he could face 25 years to life in state prison. She thought about Antoine, knowing there were people in his life who loved him. Teen Who Pushed Elderly Thai Man to His Death Pleads Not Guilty to Titus, dressed in a black suit and a pair of his grandfathers leather loafers that fit tight around his growing feet, chased his little brother around the deck. This is a hate crime.. In the Bay Area, where Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders make up a quarter of the population, stories like Vichas sparked at least two opposing narratives. According to Sliman Nawabi, the public defender, Antoine feels remorse and shame for what happened and wishes he could sit down with Vichas family so he could explain the struggles he has gone through in life. Two days after entering the hospital, just before dawn, Vicha died in his sleep. Rallies on anniversary of death of Asian victim of violence | cbs8.com San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin said he plans to file murder . He believes that the attacks on the elderly and the Atlanta shootings led more people to file reports. On the far side of the bridge, where the bay meets the Pacific, the engine stopped. On the same day, Watson was apprehended at his home in Daly City along with 20-year-old Maylasia Goo . Nawabi described the incident as an impulsive unmotivated assault that resulted from the mental-health breakdown of a teenager. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Today she had prepared a speech and printed a few copies to distribute to reporters. Now all that remained was the memory of him, the sound of his voice in her head. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. I have no chance to talk, how Im feeling right now, how I deal with it every time I do laundry, every time I drive to work, she said, looking in her rearview mirror, tears streaming. One of the biggest flaws of hate-crime laws, she says, is their focus on punishment. Any time a family suffers a violent crime, a homicide in particular, theres questions, Boudin told me. Its like being bullied. Mom, you know what? Confronting anti-Asian violence, hate crimes, and killings in San Fatal Attack on Thai Man in San Francisco Fuels #StopAsianHate - The It was still early, Monthanus reminded herself, but she also couldnt shake the feeling that the world seemed to be moving on. assault in Western Addition that led to the death an 84-year-old man, police said. Otherwise, her mother believed, Vichas soul couldnt leave the earth and start its journey toward the afterlife. He always told me that if something happened to him, this must be passed on to grandchildren, she said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Three days later an attacker shoved a 91-year-old man in Oaklands Chinatown to the ground, another video that rocketed around the internet. But her mind swirled with bigger questions. The San Francisco District Attorney's office stated on Monday, February 8, that their detention plan to hold 19-year-old Antoine Watson without bail was granted by the court. "The rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans during the pandemic is alarming. Monthanus arrived at the steps of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, an imposing concrete building that spans a city block, where Antoine Watson was scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing. Who is Antoine Watson? SF teen who killed 84-year-old man by - MEAWW