LIFE LOST FOR $30
Dad killed in a teen feud that escalated
Maryland father Christopher Wright was killed while protecting his son from a fight sparked by a schoolyard dispute over just $30, his grieving fiancée told The Post Thursday.
Wright, 43, died from traumatic brain injuries he sustained last Friday after five teenagers and adults — who had been looking for his 14-year-old son, Trenton — set upon him instead.
His fiancée, 44-year-old Tracy Karopchinsky, said the fatal altercation followed a fight Trenton had been involved in with another teenager, and she suspects Wright may have been hit with a blunt object the mob had brought along.
“On Wednesday Trenton was walking near the school and a kid — not related to the [fatal] fight — came up to him and said ‘I stole $30 from your girlfriend’ or something along those lines,” Karopchinsky told The Post. “He had the money in his hands. Trenton went to get the money and in reaction hit the kid. He hit him once, and that was the end of it.”
Karopchinsky explained Trenton had been suspended from school last Monday over another fight, and when he went back to school Friday morning a group of friends — some who would show up on her doorstep later that day — began harassing him.
“Right before lunch he walked into the bathroom. There were about 20 people in there, including the one kid who wanted to fight him,” she said. “The other kids were there to watch and video the fight.”
Chain of events
Trenton was left with a bump on his head but did not tell any adults about the altercation as he was fearful of another suspension, Karopchinsky explained.
When school let out at 4 p.m., Trenton began walking back home when he was accosted again by the boy he’d fought earlier, and a brawl erupted when another group of boys joined the fray.
After escaping, Trenton walked home. Then around 4:45 p.m., three of the boys Trenton had fought that day showed up at the family’s home with two adults.
“So [Wright] came outside to tell them ‘Trenton’s not coming out. My son’s not going to fight,’ ” and the group threatened to break into the house and fight there, Karopchinsky said.
“One of the adults then said, ‘If your son’s not going to fight, you’re going to fight.’ ”
The group proceeded to attack Wright, Karopchinsky said. It was “a brutal thing. It wasn’t two people fighting.”
Police have been tight-lipped about their investigation and said Monday they suspected three to four adults had been involved in the attack.
It is unclear if any arrests have been made.