Chilling video caught the moment protective Maryland dad Christopher Wright was brutally body-slammed and beaten to death in front of one of his young sons — but also reveals he threw the first punch.
Grainy footage from a neighbor’s security camera shows the 43-year-old dad outside his suburban Baltimore home being confronted by a group his family says were hunting for his 14-year-old son, Trenton, over a petty schoolyard dispute.
The footage, shot from some distance down the street on May 19, shows Wright pointing animatedly to his left, toward where another of his three sons stands by his side.
The dad then points his left arm at the apparent ringleader, before throwing a right punch toward his head.
It is not clear if the punch lands, but Wright immediately backs up as two members of the group march toward him. One starts swinging punches, grappling with the dad as they run between two parked cars. Wright is then seen being lifted in the air and slammed violently to the street.
The black T-shirt-clad man who bodyslammed the dad then leans over his prone body to unleash a flurry of brutal punches, after which he bends over to pick up something beside the body.
He walks away as others in the group — three teenagers and two adults — brawl with another man.
Around 15 seconds later, members of the group walk over to where Wright remains motionless on the ground — with the until-now silent clip adding bone-chilling audio of Wright’s young son screaming.
“What the f–k! What the f–k!” one of the group shouts as they flee.
The nearly 90-second clip, first published by the Daily Mail, ends with horrified witnesses — believed to include at least two of Wright’s sons — checking on the dad, who later died from a traumatic brain injury.
Wright’s fiancée, Tracy Karopchinsky, 44, told The Post Friday: “It was never a secret Chris threw the first punch. Homicide detectives knew Chris threw the first punch.
“If [Chris’ killers] didn’t come to our house looking for a fight, this never would have happened.”
Karopchinsky previously said the ringleader immediately knew what he’d done, and even apologized to their 16-year-old son, Tryston, who was one of those trying to help.
“The guy fighting him said out loud, ‘Oh my God, he’s bleeding,’ handed my son his dad’s necklaces that had come off, said, ‘I’m sorry’ and to call 911,” she said of the “brutal” end to her lover’s life.
Karopchinsky said Wright was merely trying to protect his 14-year-old, Trenton, from people seeking revenge for a schoolyard feud that started over $30.
The dad “came outside to tell them ‘Trenton’s not coming out, my son’s not going to fight,’” Karopchinsky said.
“One of the adults then said, ‘If your son’s not going to fight, you’re going to fight,’” she said of the “brutal” end to her lover’s life.
At least two of Wright’s sons are believed to have seen him being slammed and beaten, including his 11-year-old, who reportedly ran out of the house as the fight took place, screaming for his father.
“He’d stopped moving and the adult was still hitting him,” Karopchinsky told The Post.
An online fundraiser had raised more than $50,000 by Friday.
“His children Tryston, Trenton, and Tevin are now without their father … Please help this family say goodbye to Chris and help secure a future for his children.”
The Anne Arundel Police Department said Friday it had “collected numerous pieces of physical evidence from the scene,” including camera footage, but has yet to make any arrests.
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