Background: The person police allege to be Montray McCray (WBAL/YouTube). Inset: Claudia Bismark (Facebook).
A 76-year-old Maryland woman died after authorities said she and her husband were assaulted while leaving one of their favorite restaurants. Police allege the attacker struck her even after she had fallen to the ground.
Montray McCray, 32, faces charges of assault, robbery and reckless endangerment, the Baltimore Police Department announced Thursday. The victim was identified as Claudia Bismark, local Fox affiliate WBFF reported.
On Tuesday morning, Bismark and her 60-year-old husband visited Vikki’s Fells Point Deli inside Baltimore’s Broadway Market. The couple reportedly frequented the restaurant and considered it one of their favorite spots.
McCray was apparently inside the deli as the couple prepared to leave. Vikki Powers, the owner who had known Bismark and her husband for decades, said she reviewed surveillance video from inside the market and saw McCray walk past them as an employee handed the couple their change.
“He saw, then he went down and sat at the table, watched them and followed them out,” Vikki Powers told area NBC affiliate WBAL.
Surveillance footage from a nearby business appeared to show Bismark and her husband walking hand in hand when a man shoved them to the pavement. The suspect allegedly took the husband’s wallet before hitting Bismark as she appeared to try to rise.
Baltimore police arrived and spoke with both victims. Bismark and her husband told officers that a man had attacked and robbed them before fleeing the area.
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“Both victims were transported to an area hospital for medical treatment,” police said. Bismark died from her injuries two days later, on Thursday.
Police arrested McCray Thursday and booked him into the Baltimore City Booking Intake Center. The department said upgraded charges were “pending.”
Court records reviewed by Law&Crime indicate that McCray was scheduled for a bail or bond review on Oct. 2, followed by a preliminary hearing on Oct. 29.
Friends and members of the community gathered this week for a vigil honoring Bismark, local ABC affiliate WMAR reported.
“She was a light,” friend Keya Little said. “She was one of the best people I know, very generous, very caring, very funny.”
Kate Norris described Bismark as “her closest friend.”
“I came down to honor Claudia and [her husband] because they are pillars of this community,” Norris said. “They believed in community.”
