An elderly California man died after he was beaten last week for asking a set of individuals at a Starbucks parking lot to turn down the music. The 69-year-old man was punched randomly by one of the men in the group, following which he died after putting up a brave fight, authorities said.
The incident has left others at the Starbucks outlet shocked. Police said that the man was drinking quietly and all of a sudden the confrontation started. The man, after being hit, fell on the floor and before anyone could react got unconscious at the scene. An investigation has been launched and the suspect has been arrested.
Killed Mercilessly
Robert Ketner was punched and beaten to death after he confronted River Baumann, 20, one of the men from the group who were playing loud music outside a Starbucks outlet in Rocklin. Ketner requested the group to turn down the music but they were in no mood to listen to him.
Instead, Baumann, in a fit of anger, slugged Ketner and punched him in the face. "He was kind of sitting outside, drinking his latte when the vehicle of some sort came by," a relative, who did not want to be identified, told news station KTXL. "It was like really loud music; people were complaining about it. So, he pointed out, like, which car it was and asked them to turn their music down," he further added.
According to police, Ketner was first punched by Bauman following which he fell to the ground and got unconscious. He is believed to have suffered severe head injury which resulted in his death.
Freak Incident
At the time of the incident, there were other customers at the outlet. However, police said the entire episode happened so fast that no one could react. Authorities were informed immediately and an unconscious Ketner was rushed to the hospital. He was put on life support but died four days later.
"Whatever the argument was, no one deserves to lose their life," Rocklin police Captain Zack Lewis said. "So, it's a sad thing that we have to experience this." Baumann was arrested hours after the incident on suspicion of assault in connection with the beating up Ketner. However, that now has changed. He has now been slapped with manslaughter charge for killing Ketner.
