A blooming rose bush is the focal point of the front yard in Brooklyn, Md. and it’s one that Christopher Wright was tending to when his life was about to end.
On May 19, 2023, Wright, 43, was outside his home trimming the vibrant pink rose bush when his fiancé, Tracy Karopchinsky, said a car pulled up before 5 p.m. with two adults and three kids inside. Karopchinsky said her middle school son was in an altercation in school a few days prior that had continued throughout the week.
Karopchinsky said her son came home from Brooklyn Park Middle School that Friday afternoon and was telling his other brothers about the fight earlier in the day. That’s when she said the car pulled up looking to continue the fight.
“At some point they said, if he’s not coming out, we are going in. Chris said nobody is coming in my house. Then they said if he’s not going to fight, you’re going to fight. And they fought,” Karopchinsky said. “Chris threw the first punch. Yeah, he did because people were at his house trying to attack our son. So, he did throw the first punch.”
Nobody throwing the first punch should be killed and left in the street with their children to deal with the aftermath of what the adult did to him.
Karopchinsky said the group of people who came to attack her fiancé left while her children were standing outside watching. After 911 was called, Wright was taken to Shock Trauma in Baltimore City; Karopchinsky said Wright had catastrophic brain injuries and later died Saturday.
“His children were there, they called 911, they stayed by his side and helped him while the adults ran,” she said.
Karopchinsky described Wright as a dedicated partner who wanted to stay home with the kids to ensure they had a father figure in their lives to set a good example. That’s why, Karopchinsky said, she wants to turn her frustration and devastation over the case into something positive for other families.
“I just really want to fight for – these kids need better adults,” she said. “Not role models that are going to be dragging them down the street two miles to fight someone.”
A week after the incident, Karopchinsky said the grief, guilt and reality are setting in for her as well as her kids who witnessed the attack.
“There’s a lot of guilt, there’s a lot of relieving every moment. They were there, they saw the whole thing. We have a 12-year-old who watched this whole thing,” Karopchinsky said. “It’s going to be a long road to recover.”
These boys came here for Trenton and he’s going to have that guilt for the rest of his life that my dad went out there defending me. He had no intention on fighting, he was out here working in his garden, she said.
Anne Arundel County Police said investigators are combing through evidence and are searching for potentially multiple suspects, described as white males in their 20s or 30s. So far, no arrests have been made in the case.
“I don’t know how we get through. ’m just going to miss him more and more every day and I know so are [her kids],” Karopchinksy said.
“This unnecessary violence – this could be somebody else’s child, father, husband. It just needs to stop.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Anne Arundel County Homicide Detectives at 410-222-4731. Tipsters can also provide information anonymously through the Anne Arundel County Police Tip Line at 410-222-4700. The family has also created a GoFundMe site to help offset expenses.