Elderly man violently attacked in Fells Point "shouldn't be dead," wife says

BALTIMORE -- David Philpot, 74, was walking his dog Saturday afternoon in Fells Point when he was violently attacked and then later died, his wife of 30 years told WJZ.

Police arrested 43-year-old Timothy Clinedinst and charged him with involuntary manslaughter in the assault that was caught on camera by a nearby business.

Mary Margaret Philpot told WJZ that her husband, David Philpot, was approached by a man who asked him for money. When Philpot said he didn't have any money, the video shows that he was pushed to the ground and then kicked.

"He said, 'This guy asked me for money,' and he told him, 'I don't have any money,'" Philpot's wife said.

Pre-existing heart condition

The surveillance video obtained by WJZ shows the moment Philpot was assaulted. He was taken to the hospital where he died a day later.

"He shouldn't be dead," Mary Margaret Philpot said. "He wouldn't be dead if it weren't for this person."

She said the attack aggravated her husband's pre-existing heart condition.

"It's so hard to imagine that anybody would do anything like that," she continued.

Fixtures in the community

Philpot and his wife are well-known fixtures in Fells Point. They retired there together about a decade ago.

Friends at a nearby business told WJZ they are heartbroken.

"Dave was just an incredible soul," E.C. Pops owner Doug Yakey said. "He was very much like a fatherly figure, not with just me, but everyone he came in contact with."