A Texas engineer remembered for his warmth and generosity — and for the friendships he built with Fox News personalities Greg Gutfeld and Kat Timpf — was killed in what authorities described as an unprovoked attack as he sat on a park bench, according to police and local reports.
Andrew James Wimsatt, 62, of Austin, died Sept. 7 shortly after arriving at a park following a visit with his mother at her nursing home in Round Rock, Fox News reported.
Williamson County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Benedict Chinedu Ogbodiegwu, 26, on charges of murder and theft after surveillance video allegedly recorded the violent attack around 11 a.m.
According to court documents obtained by Fox 7 Austin, Ogbodiegwu allegedly came up behind Wimsatt, grabbed him and stabbed him repeatedly in the neck before wiping blood from his shirt and leaving the scene.
Wimsatt, a retired civil engineer who held a Ph.D. and worked for the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, was also a familiar figure to fans and cast members of “Gutfeld!” and the earlier Fox News program “Red Eye.”
Through years of sharing clips from the shows and showing up at live events, he developed genuine friendships with several network personalities.
“The crime, to me, is so heinous and shocking that I’m still trying to comprehend it,” Gutfeld told Fox News Digital. “I may never.”
“At first, I was suspicious, because I always assume people do things because they want things,” Gutfeld said.
“I was wrong with Andrew. He did stuff for people — lots of people — because he enjoyed being of service, and promoting stuff that he genuinely enjoys and believes in.”
Kat Timpf, the libertarian commentator and Fox News contributor, said she was left “shocked, disgusted and angry” by the death of her longtime friend.
“Andrew was a fan who became a friend,” she wrote on X.
“Cam and I just had lunch with him in Fort Worth in June, when he drove from Austin to see my return to the stage after my father’s sudden death in May.”
Timpf said she and Wimsatt stayed in touch weekly for years, offering her encouragement whenever online trolls targeted her.
“He was so kind and generous it almost seems impossible,” Timpf told Fox News Digital.
“He always supported me… whether that was sending me clips I wanted to post or offering truly helpful words of encouragement during the times throughout my career that the internet was piling on me.”
A passerby alerted police after finding Wimsatt on the ground in the park on Monday.
First responders pronounced him dead at the scene, according to Fox News.
Cops tracked down Ogbodiegwu after uncovering blood-soaked clothes and the bloody murder weapon.
When confronted, the suspect offered a wild defense, claiming he had a twin brother — but couldn’t even give cops a name.
Ogbodiegwu boasts a rap sheet in Williamson County stretching back to 2017, Fox News reported.
In 2026 alone, he was arrested twice for theft and carrying a fake ID.
He was released from jail in early June after serving a stint behind bars from January to April.
Ogbodiegwu is currently held on $1 million bond and is due back in court Oct. 8.
