"SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Nearly five years after a deadly attack on an 84-year-old man in San Francisco started a national movement, his accused killer is finally facing a jury. Opening statements happened Monday in the trial over Vicha Ratanapakdee's death. The killing in January 2021 sparked outrage and made headlines around the world. The elderly immigrant from Thailand, known by neighbors as "Grandpa Vicha," became a face of the pandemic's "Stop Asian Hate" movement. RELATED: 'Grandpa Vicha' case: Fatal attack on 84-year-old San Francisco man finally headed to trial Though his accused killer is not facing hate crime charges, legal experts tell ABC7 News the question of motive will have a big impact on this trial."
"Ratanapakdee was a father, a husband, and a grandfather. "He loved to walk on the street -- his routine morning walk," said Monthanus Ratanapakdee. In January 2021, surveillance video captured the brutal attack - a man shoving Ratanapakdee to the ground in the Anza Vista neighborhood. RELATED: 84-year-old killed after horrific daytime attack caught on video in San Francisco He died from his injuries a few days later."
Opening statements began in the murder trial over Vicha Ratanapakdee's death nearly five years after the January 2021 attack. The 84-year-old Thai immigrant was known as "Grandpa Vicha" and became a symbol of the Stop Asian Hate movement. Surveillance video captured a man shoving Ratanapakdee to the ground; Ratanapakdee died days later. The accused, Antoine Watson, was 19 at the time and faces charges including murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse. Prosecutors argue implied malice for striking an elderly man, while the defense claims the act was impulsive and not premeditated. The family and community expressed ongoing grief and calls for justice.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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