Maryland Man Charged in Connection With Death of Stepfather Trying to Protect Child After Middle School Fight

A Maryland man has been arrested in connection with the death of a stepfather who was fatally injured while trying to protect his stepson after a middle school fight, according to authorities.

According to the Anne Arundel County Police Department, 26-year-old Trevor Garrett Taylor was arrested and charged with manslaughter, assault, affray and disorderly conduct.

As Front Page Detectives previously reported, three teenagers and two adults reportedly confronted 43-year-old Christopher Michael Wright outside his home in May while looking for his fiancée’s 14-year-old son.

The son had allegedly been involved in a fight earlier that day with another teenager at Brooklyn Park Middle School, police said.

Wright’s fiancée, Tracy Karopchinsky, told WBAL-TV, “Chris came out to tell them, like, he’s not coming out here to fight, and they threatened at one point to come in and get him, and then they said, ‘If he’s not going to fight, then you’re going to fight.’”

After the attack, Wright was rushed to a local hospital where he passed away from a traumatic brain injury, authorities said.

The incident was captured by a neighbor’s security camera and police said it “became clear to the Wright family that Trevor Taylor and his associates were not going to leave and were likely going to force their way into the house and force an assault against them.”

Officials said Wright allegedly punched Taylor in the face during the confrontation. Taylor then allegedly used a pin-down maneuver, causing Taylor to fall and hit his head on the pavement as a brawl broke out.

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Taylor then landed four punches on the victim before fleeing the scene, police said.

Wright’s death was ruled a homicide due to blunt force trauma, officials said.

Anne Arundel County Police Lt. Jacklyn Davis told WMAR, “What detectives found was that the decedent, in this case, did throw the first physical punch in this altercation, so there was a lot of debate around the duty to retreat versus self-defense and everything that goes into a case that’s this involved.”

Taylor was ordered to remain behind bars without bail, officials said.