A U.S. Army veteran who owned a President Trump-themed house in Escondido, California, died Sunday after being severely beaten on Wednesday.
Sixty-nine-year-old Kerry Sheron was well-known in his neighborhood for the house decorated with American flags and pro-Trump signs, the New York Post reported Monday.
The suspect accused of putting Sheron in critical condition was allegedly a Navy veteran identified as 32-year-old Thomas Caleb Butler. Before Sheron’s death, a family friend told the California Post Butler has “severe PTSD,” the outlet reported Thursday.
“Butler’s friend even said he ‘liked’ the house, which Butler lived mere blocks away from, and added he was a Republican who supported President Donald Trump. The attack stunned the Butler family friend, who doesn’t know why he would have allegedly assaulted Sheron,” the report continued.
The incident happened outside Sheron’s home in what authorities have said appeared to be an unprovoked attack. A witness said Sheron was in his front yard when the suspect attacked him and that person said they tried to intervene, per NBC San Diego.
However, when police officers arrived at the scene Butler had already run away. It was unclear what led up to the attack or if the two men knew each other.
Deputy District Attorney Ross Garcia described the brutal assault, stating, “It was a single punch to the jaw. The victim then falls to the floor, and there are subsequent hits to the victim’s head area.”
Security video showed Sheron walking toward his house and what NBC said was the suspect approaching a witness in a yellow shirt:
Butler pleaded not guilty to charges that included attempted murder, elder abuse, criminal threats, and battery, and is being held behind bars without bail. Since the victim died, Butler is expected to be re-arraigned and officials are reportedly considering homicide-related charges in the case.
After losing her husband, Sheron’s wife, Maria, told Fox 5 “I don’t think I can say anything. I feel a lot of pain in my heart. That’s it.”
Another man who knew Sheron said, “Kerry was a Trump supporter but he was a patriot first and he was a strong believer in freedom of speech. When people would approach him and give him any guff over his opinions he didn’t let it get under his skin. He would just say ‘They’re entitled to their free speech just like I am.’”
Before and after he died, neighbors gathered outside Sheron’s home to place flowers there and hold signs showing their support, ABC 10 News reported.
“Garcia said the couple had in the past experienced harassment and threats related to the displays outside their home, but said incidents had never turned violent before,” the NBC article noted.
