Atienza and his wife of 42 years, Josephine, had attended church that Sunday before stopping at Walmart to pick up groceries.
According to Josephine, trouble began when a 17-year-old Walmart employee nearly struck her with a shopping cart. Bert confronted the teenager over what he believed was reckless behavior and her failure to apologize.
“He said, ‘You almost hit my wife with your heavy cart, and you did not even say excuse me or apologize to her,’” Josephine recalled.
The disagreement apparently did not end there.
Josephine said words were exchanged before the teenage worker allegedly threw a can toward the couple as they walked away. The can missed them, and Bert and Josephine continued shopping.
But only minutes later, Josephine said two adults identified as the employee’s parents arrived and confronted her husband.
Surveillance footage obtained by local media shows a confrontation erupting in an aisle. Atienza can be seen being assaulted before collapsing near the store shelving. The footage subsequently shows his wife kneeling beside him after the attackers move away.
Josephine described the frightening moment the confrontation suddenly turned physical.
“They crowded my husband, one of the adults hit him in the face. He fell down on the floor. I was terrified. I don’t know what’s going on,” she said.
The violence allegedly continued even after the elderly man was on the ground.
“While he’s on the floor, they’re still kicking him and I told them stop. My husband has heart problems,” Josephine said.
She then rushed to her husband and held him while they waited for emergency responders.
Bert initially remained conscious and was able to speak to his wife.
“My husband was still able to speak, he said, ‘help me, get up,’ but I told him, ‘No, you’re bleeding. Your mouth is bleeding. Ambulance is coming,” Josephine recalled.
Then his condition deteriorated.
“I look at him again. He has no more consciousness.”
Atienza was rushed to the hospital but died from his injuries the following day.
The devastating attack left Josephine without the man she had spent more than four decades alongside.
“I lost a husband of 42 years, and my son lost a father. As each day passes by, I feel the pain of loneliness about being by myself now. There is an anger and bitterness in me. If only I could turn back time,” she told WTKR.
Authorities initially charged 42-year-old Erika Mitchell and 44-year-old Travis White with malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Subsequent court records reported by local media show that both now face second-degree murder charges and are being held without bond.
The 17-year-old employee has also been charged with assault and battery, aggravated malicious wounding, and conspiracy to commit a felony. Because she is a juvenile, authorities have not publicly identified her.
White’s attorney, James Broccoletti, has disputed the suggestion that the fatal confrontation was planned.
“They did not go there, intending for any of this to happen. It was an emotional situation. Their daughter called them. She was distraught. They went, as any parent would do, to try to make sure that their daughter was safe and then the situation kind of erupted. It was spontaneous almost,” Broccoletti said.
Those claims will ultimately be tested through the court process. Mitchell and White have been charged, not convicted.
Walmart, meanwhile, confirmed that the teenage employee no longer works for the company. A company representative said Walmart is cooperating with law enforcement and declined further comment on the pending case.
What began as an ordinary disagreement over a shopping cart had, within minutes, escalated into a fatal encounter.
For Josephine Atienza, the consequences are permanent: she walked into Walmart with her husband after church and ultimately left without the man with whom she had shared 42 years of marriage.
