SAN ANTONIO — Three teenage boys attacked 80-year-old Larry Brister back in February and stole his vehicle, according to the San Antonio Police Department.
The attack left Brister in the hospital for more than 140 days and family said he suffered both broken bones and a brain injury. Police caught the three juveniles, who are either 16 or 17, over several weeks and they were facing felony charges. Then, on Monday, police confirmed Brister had recently died from those injuries. SAPD has now begun a capital murder investigation headed by their homicide unit.
Mandy Kohutek, Brister's daughter, released the following statement Tuesday:
At this time our family understands that two of the three boys that were arrested for the carjacking and beating of our dad have been let out of the juvenile jail and placed on ankle monitors. We are hoping they will be arrested again as soon as possible and placed back in jail for the charges of capital murder. These juveniles have extensive criminal records from what we have learned. We are hoping the Judge does not make our family feel like the victims again and we can get Justice for the loss of our Father. These three juveniles beat him and left him unconscious. He was 80 years old and in perfect health. He could not recover from the extent of his injuries and family is suffering from A huge loss now. We have a huge community of support and the people of San Antonio are very mad about this and that these individuals are not locked up. We have received so much support and people are asking us if they can fill court to help us see that Justice is served.
Kohutek previously told KENS 5 the 80-year-old played tennis, mowed the lawn and worked a job three days out of the week.
Brister had not brought up his attack on Feb. 11, and the family hasn't mentioned it to him either. Kohutek said her father was on a food run when the incident occurred. She isn't sure what lured her father of out of his truck either.
San Antonio Police Sgt. Washington Moscoso said the details surrounding the robbery remain unclear but confirmed arrests have been made. Due to their age, police cannot publicly identify the suspects.
"Once our robbery unit got on the case, they started looking into it and the vehicle was found. They were able to process the vehicle and develop a suspect," said Sgt. Moscoso.
Moscoso said the first suspect revealed two other accomplices. After a couple of weeks, the U.S. Marshals Office was able to locate and arrest the two juveniles. The suspects are currently charged with aggravated robbery, though that could soon change.
Kohutek said her family was shocked to learn how young these suspects were. However, she is grateful they were caught and hopes justice will be served.