Inset: Vicha Ratanapakdee (GoFundMe). Background: Video footage showing Vicha Ratanapakdee being attacked and fatally pushed by Antoine Watson (KGO/YouTube).
A California man testified this week about allegedly killing a "grandpa" in 2021 when he was a teenager, recounting how he charged at the 84-year-old and annihilated him with a fatal push because he was "staring" at him after his car broke down.
"I thought he was judging me," Antoine Watson, now 24, explained in court Tuesday about the alleged murder of Vicha Ratanapakdee in San Francisco's Anza Vista neighborhood, according to local ABC affiliate KGO.
"I remember a person just staring at me and I remember just running at him and pushing him," he said.
Watson, who was 19 at the time of the attack, has reportedly never spoken about what was going through his mind that day in 2021 when he targeted Ratanapakdee, who is referred to as "Grandpa Vicha" by media outlets and family. He said in court that his girlfriend was with him when his vehicle broke down and was also "judging" him for how he reacted to the motor mishap.
"I didn't want to cry in front of her," Watson testified.
The young man told his public defender that he didn't know why he did what he allegedly did. "At that moment, I wasn't thinking," Watson claimed.
Video captured that day shows the alleged push on Ratanapakdee. Prosecutors showed it in court this week during Watson's murder trial. It shows him running toward the octogenarian before shoving him to the ground. The video sparked protests and a local push to stop anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, local NBC affiliate KNTV reports.
Watson was cross-examined on Wednesday and was asked repeatedly to provide more specific details about what went down.
"You agree that you killed Vicha Ratanapakdee?" asked Assistant District Attorney Sean Connelly, according to KNTV.
"Yeah," Watson reportedly answered.
"You agree that Vicha Ratanapakdee did nothing to deserve being attacked?" Connelly asked.
"Yeah," Watson replied.
Connelly fired back, "Did you look him in the eye?"
"I don't know," Watson replied.
"Was he asking for help?" Connelly asked.
"I don't know," Watson said.
"Did he ask you why you did this to him?" Connelly asked.
"I don't know," Watson replied.
Ratanapakdee's daughter, Monthanus Ratanapakdee, told local media outlets that hearing Watson talk about her father's death was very "painful" for her.
"When he saw my dad very hurting and bleeding all over his head … he [did] not call 911 or try to help him," Monthanus Ratanapakdee told KNTV. "He walked back to the car."
Speaking to KGO, the grieving daughter added, "I think this guy [has] no remorse. … He intend[ed] to assault my father."
Watson's trial is scheduled to continue Thursday.
Comments