SAN ANTONIO – An 80-year-old grandfather who was attacked during a carjacking in February has died, San Antonio police said.
Now the three teens arrested for the aggravated robbery of his Ford F-250 could face upgraded charges.
Larry Brister succumbed to his injuries on July 8, nearly five months after he was carjacked at the intersection of Walker Ranch and Stonewood Drive, near Bitters Road, a police spokesman said Monday.
Brister had been going to pick up dinner, when the carjacking happened less than a mile from his home in the Bluffview Estates neighborhood. He was found on the road suffering from numerous injuries and was taken to University Hospital.
His widow, Sandra Brister, said she made the decision to put him into hospice care just a few days before his death.
“He had tried so hard, and we didn’t want him to suffer anymore. It’s the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life,” she told KSAT through tears.
Sandra Brister said her husband’s injuries included broken ribs, a broken shoulder, a broken leg, and multiple brain bleeds. He also had large amounts of skin stripped off his leg, having apparently been dragged during the theft.
She said his injuries had been healing, except for complications from skin grafts, which she believes is what killed him. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said the cause and manner of Brister’s death are still pending.
It was a sad end for the lively man who still played tennis twice a week, helped his neighbors with yard work, and liked to dance. Bristner loved Mexican music, especially Vincente Fernandez, his wife said.
The pair have two adult daughters and three grandchildren.
“He danced with all of us and the grandkids,” she said with a chuckle.
Three boys, ages 15-16, were arrested for aggravated robbery in March. Their names were not released due to their ages.
The trio could now be facing upgraded charges. The case was forwarded to the SAPD Homicide Unit for a capital murder investigation, the spokesman said.
Sandra Brister said she wants to see justice in her husband’s death, which, to her, “looks like the judge is making the right decision to punish people for these crimes.”