Houston military veteran Earl Hollins passed away following a vicious assault outside a grocery store. At first, investigators believed 80-year-old Hollins had been the victim of a robbery, but they quickly discovered the incident was over a parking space outside a north Harris County Food Town.
Later, investigators also discovered that Hollins and suspect Anthony Boyce, 57, were not strangers but knew each other before the incident.
After allegedly attacking Hollins, Boyce fled in his pickup. As per the court paperwork that KHOU11 News was able to get, Boyce challenged Hollins as Hollins was backing into a parking space.
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During a heated argument in the parking lot, Boyce punched Hollins once in the head, according to prosecutor Michael Simons. Hollins suffered a serious head injury after hitting his head on the concrete.
A witness at the scene told the outlet that he drove to a local volunteer fire department to request assistance since he didn’t think help would arrive quickly enough.
The veteran was not expected to recover after sustaining severe head trauma on Friday and going into a coma. He passed away on Saturday shortly after his family removed him from life support.
Hollins’ niece, Elma Hollins-Washington, told ABC13, “What he (did), it wasn’t right…it wasn’t human.”
“Someone was saying that he knew the guy because they always used to be around Food Town,” she remarked.
Hollins-Washington lamented the loss of Uncle Earl, as he was affectionately known—a father, grandparent, and war veteran—saying, “You took something great from us… something that we will never get over.”
“He was one of a kind. I mean to know him you have to love him. He was an easygoing person. He was friendly.”
She went on to say that he was an open person who had seen and experienced a lot, which frequently made him the most entertaining individual in the room.
Boyce was charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, but following Hollins’ passing, KHOU revealed that he is now facing a murder charge.
On Monday, Boyce’s bail was increased to $200,000.
