Husband and Father Who Was ‘Brutally Assaulted’ on Wedding Anniversary Is Taken Off Life Support
The widow of 34-year-old Jonny George, who was attacked while at a gas station in Colorado, said the incident was random
A Colorado man who was involved in a "brutal" random attack was taken off life support and has died.
Police in Westminster, Colo., wrote in a press release shared on Facebook that a 34-year-old man, identified by his wife as Jonny George, was attacked on the evening of Oct. 20 outside of a Circle K gas station as he was celebrating his wedding anniversary.
CBS Colorado reported that George's wife, Erika Haithe, said that she and her husband were planning to spend a comfortable night at home watching movies in celebration of their fifth anniversary. At around 7:00 p.m. local time, the father of two walked to the nearby Circle K, located at the corner of 121st Ave. and Huron St. in Westminster, to pick up some cigarettes.
"Which he does quite often and he's always returned, and he never returned," Halte told the outlet.
She said her calls to George did not go through, so she assumed that her husband had walked to his family's home nearby.
"So I just had gone to bed in hopes of waking up with him next to me in the morning," she recalled, revealing that when she called George's phone again in the morning, a nurse at St. Anthony's Hospital answered and told her that George had been airlifted in with extensive injuries.
"I was upset that I went to sleep. I started having a lot of guilt. I was so sad that I couldn't be with him, that I wasn't there," Halte told CBS Colorado.
According to NBC affiliate station News 9, as well as a GoFundMe update shared by his wife, George underwent emergency brain surgery and was in the hospital for three weeks with skull fractures until he was declared brain dead by doctors after two brain bleeds. By Nov. 10, he was taken off life support and his organs were donated.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
In a message on the GoFundMe — which has raised more than $16,000 to pay for medical bills and support George's family — the man's family called the attack "brutal."
Halte told CBS Colorado that her late husband's wallet and phone were not taken in the attack. She also noted to News 9 that George actually called 911 before he was attacked to report a disturbance, but ultimately told officers not to come as he thought he would be able to make it home without issue.
"There [were] no defense wounds, no nothing, this was all straight in the head. He's not really one to have confrontations, you know. He's more of a helper than anything," Halte told CBS Colorado.
Police said no official cause of death has been determined, but the Adams County Coroner will announce it once it becomes available.
No one has been arrested in the case, police said. News 9 reported that investigators have not officially declared the case a homicide yet, and as there is no security camera footage of the incident, police are asking the public for help.
"Anyone who has witnessed this incident or has more information is asked to contact the Westminster Police Department at 303-658-4360," the department wrote on Facebook. "Tipsters can also remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward up to $2,000 by calling Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867)."
For Halte — who married George in 2019 and created a blended family with each of their own children before welcoming their son Jonathan Jr. together — the loss is insurmountable.
"I always call him my left-hand man and I'm his right-hand woman because he's left-handed and I'm right-handed," Halte told CBS Colorado.
"It baffles me that somebody would want to do that," she added. "I don't know why. It's sickening."