Police have provided their conclusions on a tragedy that occurred before a San Diego Padres baseball game at Petco Park in September, but the family of those involved isn't satisfied with the findings.
Raquel Wilkins was a 40-year-old mother who fell to her death at Petco Park while holding her 2-year-old son, Denzel Browning-Wilkins. The tragedy occurred just before the September 25, 2021, game, the second to last of the season. Fans were working their way into the ballpark when the two fell from the third level.
Witnesses say that mom and baby were having a good time, though one witness did note that Raquel, who was jumping on a picnic table with the child, fell off once prior to the fall that killed them both. Now officials are saying the second fall was an act of murder/suicide.
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"Raquel Wilkins' death has been classified a suicide and Denzel Browning-Wilkins' death has been classified a homicide," San Diego Police Homicide Lieutenant Andra Brown said in a statement.
The statement said the conclusion was reached methodically, as "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."
Attorney Dan Gilleon is representing Raquel's mother, father, and sisters. He says the family is outraged at this conclusion, which they believe to be illogical. He claims that police have "refused to provide us an ounce of information," per The San Diego Union Tribune.
Gilleon says they "flat out refused to explain."
To that claim, Lt. Brown replied they "do not typically (release) information to the suspect's family."
Gilleon believes the city is covering its own tracks. "The city of San Diego owns that ballpark, it is legally responsible, assuming that what caused her to fall was anything but her intent," he explained.
"The only way the city is not at fault is if she intended to kill herself and her baby."
A witness who saw the fall while sitting at the next table with her son also said the fall seemed to be accidental.
"The man that was with her was standing by the railing as the woman started jumping on the bench of the table closest to the railing, holding the baby in her arms. She seemed happy — laughing," the witness told NBC San Diego, saying that Wilkins then fell for the first time.
"About 30 seconds or a minute later, she jumped back up and did it again, facing the man as she jumped with the baby," the witness recalled.
"I remember saying, 'I can't believe she’s doing that again,' and then she was gone … From my vantage point, looking at her back, it was almost like she rolled over the railing. I told my son, 'Oh my gosh she went over!'"
The child's father, who was standing nearby, witnessed the whole thing. He walked over to the railing and looked over, appearing to be in shock.
"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 to the Associated Press.
"To me, the city is acting like any other defendant in a lawsuit: blame the victim, especially if they are not able to defend themselves."
