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Background: Norman Duncan (The Cleveland, Ohio Remembrance Page/Facebook). Insets: Marvin Atkins (top) and Ann Marie Clayton (Cleveland Division of Police).
An Ohio father was trying to rescue his 12-year-old son, who was being held against his will by another set of parents, and gave his life trying to get him back, police said.
Norman Duncan, 37, a father of five kids, was involved in an altercation on April 14 that started when his 12-year-old son and another 12-year-old boy got into a fight in a neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, according to WJW, a local Fox affiliate. The other boy’s parents — Marvin Atkins, 46, and Ann Marie Clayton, 43 — became involved and allegedly held Duncan’s son against his will. When Duncan arrived at the scene, he reportedly began fighting with Atkins.
Police said that Clayton then allegedly hit Duncan in the head with a brick, WJW reported.
But the alleged assault against Duncan wasn’t over. According to WJW, Duncan broke free and attempted to get his son to get the two of them out of the neighborhood. While he walked away, police reportedly said that Atkins and Clayton got into their Chevy Impala, hopped the curb, and intentionally struck Duncan.
After they allegedly hit Duncan, Atkins and Clayton left the scene. Family members who spoke to WJW said that Duncan’s son was the one who called 911 after his father was allegedly struck.
Duncan was brought to a hospital, where he died of his injuries that day.
Police later tracked Atkins and Clayton down at a home nearby and placed them under arrest on Wednesday, according to reporting by WKYC, a local NBC affiliate. Both are charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter.
In an interview with WJW, one of Duncan’s family members called the suspects “cowards,” saying, “They’re cowards, he wasn’t. Norman was a heck of a guy.”
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