If a burglar causes a victim to have a fatal heart attack through fear, should the burglar stand trial for murder?

Yes, ruled a judge on May 19 when she ordered Patrick Timothy O’Brien, 38, to stand trial for the murder of longtime veterinarian Clark Kelly, 88, who called 911 upon seeing an intruder break into his Rolando animal clinic.

Kelly’s voice was played in the courtroom of San Diego Superior Court Judge Joan Weber as he called on June 15, 2022, to report someone broke into his Boulevard Animal Clinic at 7047 El Cajon Boulevard.

Kelly’s voice became weaker and weaker as he described the break-in, saying “I’m a veterinarian. Dr. Kelly.” When the dispatcher asked how the burglar got in, he said, “they came through the alley through the gate. Hurry!”

There were muffled sounds and the dispatcher could not hear anything further from Kelly, who collapsed and fell on the floor. His wife came in along with Kristian Howard, who told the dispatcher to send police.

“He had a heart attack,” said Dr. Steve Campman, a forensic pathologist, who said the manner of death was classified as a homicide because it occurred “in circumstances where a crime is involved.”

Under cross examination, Campman agreed that Kelly had a heart valve replaced and also repaired. He also said Kelly had a history of congestive heart failure.

He said Kelly apparently hit his head on his desk or the floor, causing a large pool of blood to spill, but the main cause of death was a heart attack.

At the end of the preliminary hearing, Weber took some time to study some issues before making her decision to order a murder trial.

O’Brien’s attorney, Peter Will, asked for the case to be dismissed, saying there was “no evidence of an assault.” Will added that Kelly never said in the 911 call that he was attacked, and he was only reporting a burglary.

“What we have here is a homeless mentally ill man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Will.

“This caused a fright response on Mr. Kelly,” said Deputy District Attorney Andrew Aguilar. “Mr. O’Brien’s actions were the direct cause of Mr. Kelly’s heart attack.”

“It appears he had this tragic heart attack and hit his head on the filing cabinet. It’s an extremely stressful situation for an 88-year-old man,” said Weber. “It’s an extremely unusual case for a felony murder case.”

Weber ordered O’Brien to stand trial for murder and attempted burglary.

O’Brien will next appear in court June 5 to get a trial date set. He has pleaded not guilty.

O’Brien remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.

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