Man dies one week after daughter's boyfriend brutally beat him up and cracked his skull
A Texas man who was brutally beaten by his daughter's boyfriend during a domestic dispute last weekend has reportedly succumbed to his injuries.
When Eric Garcia overheard Jaime Apodaca, his daughter's boyfriend of one month, calling her names and accusing her of infidelity last Saturday morning, he decided to confront the 24-year-old in his daughter's defense, according to an arrest affidavit, stated a Daily Mail report.
Apodaca was in the girl's bedroom at her family home in Austin when her father entered and told him to leave. In response, Apodaca allegedly threw a jab at Garcia and punched his daughter in the face when she tried to protect him, knocking out one of her teeth, according to a KXAN report.
The violent altercation didn't end there. Apodaca proceeded to knock down Garcia multiple times on the hallway stairs while the victim's daughter begged him to stop. It is claimed that Apodaca then pushed his girlfriend with such force that she crashed into a shoe rack, breaking it on impact.
The affidavit states that the fight continued outside on Garcia's driveway, where Apodaca allegedly sucker-punched the father and he hit the concrete so hard that his skull cracked.
When paramedics responded to the scene, Garcia's heart had stopped. It took them over 15 minutes to revive him, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his friend Rock Schouman to help the victim's family with medical and living expenses.
On Thursday, family members said Garcia had "moved into the light" and "was surrounded by his loved ones, and he will be deeply missed by many." The loving father was in a coma for almost a week after he was rushed to hospital suffering an inter-cranial trauma and a herniated brain. He died on Thursday night.
"He tried to split up a fight. He was such a quiet, nice, humble person," Schouman told KXAN. "He didn't really deserve what happened to him."
Schouman also launched a Facebook fundraiser in a bid to raise money for Garcia and his children, including his 12-year-old daughter.
Meanwhile, Apodaca has been charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member, assault causing bodily injury and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury to a family member. He is currently being held in Travis County Jail on the above charges.
In order to determine whether additional charges are to be filed, police are working with the Travis County district attorney's office and waiting for the results of Garcia's autopsy.