BALTIMORE — A 60-year-old man was on his way home from a grocery store in Canton Saturday when police said he was attacked and robbed. He died in the hospital two days later and detectives are now investigating it as a murder.
According to police and witnesses, Victor Malabayabas was approached by a man who asked for a cigarette and then a tissue.
MORE: 60-year-old man died after being assaulted and robbed in Canton
As Malabayabas handed the man a tissue, he was grabbed by the shirt and slammed against a car and then to the ground.
The thief took off with his wallet.
"I was called on Saturday evening to come to the hospital after the incident happened and I stayed with his wife to do the rituals of the church and it was two days after that Victor passed,” said Father Dennis Grumsey, pastor at St. Casimir Church.
Father Grumsey said Malabayabas moved to the area back in 2008 and has been attending St. Casimir ever since.
"He was very involved here at St. Casimir,” Father Grumsey said. “He was the greeter at our church. He was involved with anything that we asked him to do. He took care of the garden in the back of the house. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus. Anything that we had here at the parish, Malabayabas was willing to step up."
Those close to Malabayabas said he grew vegetables at his home and at the church.
Known for his heart of gold, he was always giving to anyone he came across.
“He grew tomatoes and cucumbers and all sorts of vegetables that he would harvest every morning and bring over to the chapel where we would have daily mass, then share them with the people that attended mass,” Father Grumsey said. “So, everybody did, and does, leave these summer months with an abundance of vegetables."
"Victor is a giving guy and I heard that they grabbed him and they hit his head on the concrete and he went into a coma,” said Kenneth Berry, a friend. “I waited yesterday and I found out he didn't make it and I fell apart and I was heartbroken because he's a good guy."
Berry told WMAR-2 News that Malabayabas was a ‘giving person’ who often spent his free time at Pols Café.
"Basically, he was part of the bar. He was family like Cheers,” Berry said. “He was well welcome and everybody knew him. He'd do waffles and charities. He was a giving person and I’m very shocked that this happened to him.”
According to Councilman Zeke Cohen, BPD arrested a person of interest but let them go because they were not the suspect. Detectives are following up on leads and Cohen has asked for increased patrols in the neighborhood.
Malabayabas' funeral is at St. Casimir Church on Friday, August 26 at 11 a.m.
Homicide detectives are asking anyone with any information to contact them at Metro Crime Stoppers 1-866-7-LOCKUP.
