PINOLE — Prosecutors in Contra Costa County have charged a Richmond man with murder following an attack last month at a park that ended with the death of a former longtime school principal in that area, authorities said.
Court records state that Miguel Patino, 27, is charged with murdering a woman identified by authorities as 68-year-old Vera Rowsey. Police responded about 2 p.m. May 28 to an area near Bayfront Park after a report that two people walking their dog had been attacked.
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Police later identified Patino as the suspect in that crime and said they booked him into the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon other than a gun, and elder/dependent abuse.
Prosecutors upgraded the charges to murder when Rowsey died days after the attack, authorities said. In addition to murder, authorities have charged Patino with elder or dependent adult abuse resulting in death and elder or dependent adult abuse with infliction of injury, according to court documents.
Patino pleaded not guilty to all of the amended charges during his arraignment and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 25, according to court records.
The homicide was the first one investigated by Pinole police since February 2024.
Rowsey was a longtime Principal at De Anza High School in Richmond after also serving in that role at Pinole Middle School, according to social media posts and community members. In a Nextdoor post shared on a page for De Anza High alumni, one person wrote that Rowsey “was one of the healthiest and most proactive women I’ve known.”
Police said they anticipated releasing an updated statement about the killing later Wednesday. They have not specified any details of the attack or how it unfolded.
The other person with Rowsey suffered unspecified injuries, too, police said. That person was treated at a hospital.
This is a developing report. Please check back for updates.