77-Year-Old Walmart Shopper Dies After Dispute With Teen Employee Escalates Into Fatal Confrontation

A routine shopping trip after church ended in tragedy for a 77-year-old Virginia man after a disagreement involving a teenage Walmart employee allegedly escalated into a confrontation with the girl’s parents.

Bert Atienza died at a hospital on June 8, one day after he was attacked inside a Walmart in Norfolk. His wife of 42 years, Josephine Atienza, was with him throughout the incident and later described watching her husband lose consciousness as they waited for help.

A Shopping Cart Sparked the Initial Dispute

According to Josephine, the couple had spent the morning at church before stopping to buy groceries on June 7.

She said a 17-year-old Walmart employee moved quickly down an aisle with a shopping cart and nearly struck her. Bert confronted the employee, telling her she had almost hit his wife and had failed to apologize.

The argument was initially brief. As Bert and Josephine walked away, however, the employee allegedly threw a can in their direction and then contacted her parents.

What happened minutes later transformed the dispute into a criminal case.

Teen’s Parents Arrive at the Store

The elderly shopper was shoved from the back, grabbed and punched as onlookers walked away.

Authorities allege Travis White and Erika Mitchell entered the Walmart after their daughter called them and began looking for the elderly couple.

Surveillance footage reportedly shows Bert browsing an aisle when the confrontation began. He was allegedly shoved and struck before collapsing, while Josephine desperately tried to intervene.

Afterward, Josephine was left on the floor holding her husband in her lap. Bert was initially able to speak to her, but soon became unresponsive. He was taken to a hospital and died the following day.

Medical officials later determined that Bert died from blunt-force head trauma and ruled his death a homicide.

Charges Escalate to Second-Degree Murder

The elderly shopper died of blunt head trauma sustained in the attack by the teen employee’s parents.Youtube/ WTKR

White, 44, and Mitchell, 42, were arrested days after the incident. They initially faced charges including malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding and conspiracy to commit a felony.

Court records show those charges were later elevated to second-degree murder.

Their attorney, James Broccoletti, has challenged the murder allegations. He said the parents went to Walmart because their daughter had called them while distressed and argued that the confrontation was spontaneous rather than planned.

The defense maintains that the evidence supports an assault charge rather than murder, arguing that White and Mitchell did not arrive expecting Bert to die as a result of the confrontation.

The case now centers on how an argument that began with a shopping cart escalated within minutes into a confrontation that left a husband dead and two parents facing second-degree murder charges.