Haunting final words of husband, 77, ‘beaten to death in Walmart after argument with employee over cart’

THE elderly man who was allegedly beaten to death inside a Walmart following an argument with an employee pleaded with his wife to help him get to his feet after the savage assault. “Help me, get up,” Bert Atienza, 77, told his wife Josephine after being brutally assaulted on June 7 by the parents of a 17-year-old employee at the big-box retailer in Norfolk, Virginia, west of Virginia Beach. Bert Atienza was brutally beaten at a Walmart while grocery shopping with his wife, Josephine, on the afternoon of June 7 Credit: Facebook/Josephine Milo Atienza Atienza’s savage assault was captured on video, showing the parents of a Walmart employee attacking the elderly husband Credit: WTKR The shocking caught-on-camera assault occurred after Josephine, Atienza’s wife of 42 years, said the teenage employee nearly struck her with a shopping cart. Josephine said her husband confronted the employee for her lack of awareness. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! “He said, ‘You almost hit my wife with your heavy car, and you did not even say excuse me or apologize to her,'”the grieving widow told CBS affiliate WTKR. Josephine recalled exchanging words with the employee and then walked away, but not before the teenager allegedly threw a can at the couple. The can did not hit them, the wife said. Minutes later, horrifying surveillance footage captured the moment the employee’s parents, Travis White and Erika Mitchell, arrived at the store and confronted Atienza. “They crowded my husband, one of the adults hit him in the face,” Josephine painfully recalled. “He fell down on the floor. I was terrified. I don’t know what’s going on. Most read in The Sun “While he’s on the floor, they’re still kicking him and I told them to stop, my husband has heart problems.” Footage showed Josephine cradling her husband in her arms as his attackers walked away. While on the ground, Atienza pleaded with his wife to help him up, but Josephine refused due to the extent of his injuries as he quickly lost consciousness. Atienza was rushed to the hospital, where he died of blunt force trauma the following day. Norfolk police have ruled his death a homicide. Bert Atienza (red) is captured on video allegedly being punched by Travis White and Erika Mitchell Credit: Youtube/ WTKR Travis White has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Atienza’s fatal beating Credit: Norfolk Sheriff's Office Erika Mitchell was charged with the same crimes as White and is being held in jail without bond Credit: Norfolk Sheriff's Office Video captured Josephine cradling her husband of 42 years after the vicious beating Credit: Youtube/ WTKR White, 44, and Mitchell, 42, were arrested days after the attack and initially charged with malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding, and conspiracy to commit a felony. The charges against the pair were later upgraded to second-degree murder after Atienza died. The pair’s attorney disputed the charges against them, arguing White and Mitchell were acting in defense of their daughter. “They did not go there, intending for any of this to happen,” defense attorney James Broccoletti told WTKR. “It was an emotional situation. Their daughter called them. She was distraught. “They went, as any parent would do, to try to make sure that their daughter was safe and then the situation kind of erupted. It was spontaneous almost.” Broccoletti added, “We think that the evidence establishes at best an assault because they punched the gentleman, there is some evidence my client may have kicked him, but that’s simple assault, that’s a misdemeanor. “There is nothing that goes further than that, that indicates that there was any chance or likelihood or probability that this man would die as a result of this.” White and Mitchell are being held without bond. The couple’s 17-year-old daughter, whose name has not been disclosed due to her age, was charged with assault and battery, aggravated malicious wounding and conspiracy to commit a felony. The teenager is no longer employed at Walmart. She is being held at the Norfolk Juvenile Detention Center. Walmart said it is working with police on the matter.