Deaths at Petco Park before Padres baseball game ruled as suicide and homicide by police
SAN DIEGO – San Diego police have concluded that a 40-year-old woman died by suicide when she fell from a third-level concourse at Petco Park last September, killing her and her 2-year-old son.
The woman, Raquel Wilkins, and her son, Denzel Browning-Wilkins, were pronounced dead on the scene Sept. 25, shortly before a baseball game there between the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves. San Diego police initially said the deaths “appeared to be suspicious” but did not say Wednesday how they reached their conclusion.
“The detectives conducted a thorough and comprehensive investigation that included dozens of interviews, reviewing of available video footage, and collecting background information to determine what led to the deaths,” the police said in a news release Wednesday. “In consultation with the San Diego County Medical Examiner, Raquel Wilkins’ death has been classified a suicide and Denzel Browning-Wilkins’ death has been classified a homicide. The San Diego Police Department will not be making any further comment on the case.”
An attorney for the woman’s family, Dan Gilleon, expressed his displeasure at this Wednesday and said the family is considering a lawsuit against the city, which owns 70% of the ballpark.
“SDPD will tell the world that Raquel Wilkins (killed) herself and her baby,” Gilleon said on Twitter. “But they won’t have the human decency to bother to explain why they think that. Imagine how Raquel’s family feels at such awfulness.”
In a domestic dispute in 2016, the ex-boyfriend of the woman said in a court declaration that she had a history of suicidal behavior after she accused him of abuse and sought a restraining order against him. Gilleon noted this declaration came in response to the woman’s allegations against the ex-boyfriend and said in a text message to USA TODAY Sports that her family never heard or saw of any suicidal ideation with Wilkins.
“All accounts were that she was smiling and having fun until she, for some reason, ended up on the picnic table that was right up against the railing” before she fell over it onto the street below, Gilleon stated.
Gilleon said the city was acting like a defendant in a lawsuit by blaming the victim. He also said the safety value of the railing's height was "all but negated" by the table she was at being next to it. Railing heights have been an issue in deaths at other ballparks, although such incidents are rare.
"The city doesn't want to explain why it concluded that a young mother would kill her only child at an event where witnesses said she was happy," Gilleon said in a text message.
The police described their investigation as "exhaustive" and thanked those who came forward with information. After being alerted to the incident that day, two officers arrived to discover the bodies on the sidewalk at 200 Tony Gwynn Way. The officers began CPR but determined the woman and child died at the scene because of traumatic injuries.
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Petco Park deaths before Padres baseball game ruled suicide, homicide
