Bert Atienza, 77, was shopping with his wife of 42 years at a Walmart in Norfolk, Virginia, on June 7 when a confrontation with a 17‑year‑old employee escalated into a fatal assault.
According to Atienza’s widow, Josephine, the teen nearly struck her with a cart as she and her husband walked down an aisle. When Atienza complained that the employee had not apologized, a brief argument ensued and the teen allegedly threw a can at the couple before calling her parents for help.
Surveillance video obtained by local station WTKR shows the teen’s parents, Travis White, 44, and Erika Mitchell, 42, entering the store minutes later. The footage captures White and Mitchell confronting Atienza, shoving him from behind, punching him, and kicking him while onlookers watched.
Atienza was left on the floor, bleeding from his mouth and head. He managed to speak briefly to his wife before losing consciousness. He was rushed to a hospital, where he died on June 8 from blunt‑head trauma.
White and Mitchell were arrested a few days after the incident and initially charged with malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding and conspiracy to commit a felony. Court records later show the charges were upgraded to second‑degree murder. Their teenage daughter, who no longer works at Walmart, faces charges of assault and battery, aggravated malicious wounding and conspiracy to commit a felony and is being held at the Norfolk Juvenile Detention Center.
Attorney James Broccoletti, representing White and Mitchell, argued that the parents acted spontaneously to protect their daughter and did not intend to cause serious harm. He contended that the evidence supports only simple assault, not a murder‑level offense.
All three defendants remain in custody at the Norfolk jail without bond as the case proceeds.