Man arrested in death of dad beaten over school fight involving son, Maryland cops say

An arrest has been made two months after the death of a 43-year-old father badly beaten outside his home in May, police in Maryland said.

Christopher Michael Wright, of Brooklyn, a Baltimore neighborhood, died of his injuries after a group showed up at his home on May 19 looking for his son, who was involved in a fight at Brooklyn Park Middle School earlier that day, according to authorities and WBAL-TV.

“Chris came out to tell them, like, he’s not coming out here to fight, and they threatened at one point to come in and get him, and then they said, ‘If he’s not going to fight, then you’re going to fight,’” Wright’s fiancee, Tracy Karopchinsky, told WBAL-TV in May.

Now, Trevor Garrett Taylor, 26, of Brooklyn, has been arrested on several charges, including manslaughter and second-degree assault, in connection with Wright’s death, the Anne Arundel County Police Department announced in a July 19 news release.

On May 19, Taylor’s nephew fought with Wright’s son at school before Taylor, two other boys and an adult arrived at Wright’s home in a confrontation that proved deadly, according to charging documents, TV station WBFF reported.

Taylor wanted his nephew and Wright’s son to continue fighting, according to The Baltimore Banner.

Ultimately, Wright punched Taylor, who ended up punching him back, according to the outlet. Then, Taylor is accused of grabbing Wright’s legs, resulting in the father falling and hitting his head on the ground as Taylor continued to beat him, the outlet reported.

He sustained a severe traumatic brain injury while defending his son, according to a GoFundMe created for the family on behalf of Karopchinsky.

On May 20, Wright died at a hospital due to his injuries, police said.

Karopchinsky and Wright had three sons together, according to The Baltimore Banner.

This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Man arrested in death of dad beaten over school fight involving son, Maryland cops say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.