An 81-year-old man who died after being attacked in front of his home Sunday night was a retired minister and ex-Marine lieutenant colonel.
The assault was apparently random, police said.
Police released further details Tuesday about the slaying of Leroy Van Verth, including a description of the confrontation that led to his death.
Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson police spokesman, described the incident:
Van Verth was just returning to his North Side home after an out-of-state trip with his wife of over 60 years.
The couple had parked their RV across the street and were unpacking. Around 7:30 p.m. Van Verth's wife was still inside the RV working to unload when her husband was approached by an unknown man.
She heard words being exchanged and then scuffling on the gravel outside.
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When she got out of the RV she saw the man standing over her husband with a sharp instrument. Van Verth had been slashed on the legs several times.
The man demanded something about giving him keys but then ran away.
Van Verth lost large amounts of blood and the shock of the attack led to cardiac arrest. He was taken to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead not long after 8 p.m.
Pacheco could not say what exactly Van Verth had been slashed with.
Van Verth did nothing to antagonize the man, Pacheco said.
Van Verth served as a chaplain in the Marine Corps and also as a minister at Noel Evangelical Methodist Church, 166 E. Roger Road. Even after retiring, he volunteered to stay on at the church as a groundskeeper, Pacheco said.
"He was a very good gentleman. All he did was serve his country and community, and some dirtbag comes along and does this to him."
No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or 88-CRIME.
