SQUAW VALLEY — A 56-year-old Madera County man died early Friday morning after suffering injuries during a fight with a Squaw Valley man.
Shortly after midnight on Thursday, a man dialed 911 to report he had just been involved in a fight with an intruder, later identified as Thomas Robert Christopher.
Deputies responded to a home on the 49000 block of Chuckwagon Road in Squaw Valley. There they met with the caller who explained Christopher was severely injured and lying in his front yard.
Deputies attempted to give Christopher medical aid but he was pronounced dead at the scene. According to a public records search, Christopher was a registered sex offender whose last known address was on Avenue 14.
The Squaw Valley man, who has not been identified, survived the fight and was transported to the hospital for treatment of an injured leg, according to the Fresno County Sheriff’s Department.
After interviewing witnesses and examining evidence, detectives say Christopher had parked his vehicle down the road and walked to the trailer on the property and began banging on the door, calling the man by name to come out.
The two men reportedly had known each other for several years.
Detectives say that after the man who was asleep got up and opened the door, Christopher pushed his way into the trailer and immediately began attacking the man with a metal pipe.
The Squaw Valley man fought back, pushing Christopher out onto the front porch while delivering several blows that severely injured him. The man then called the Sheriff’s Office to report what had taken place.
“The early investigation shows Christopher was upset with the [Squaw Valley] man over a woman they have both been involved with,” said a report from the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives have not made any arrests and the case remains an ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information about is asked to please contact Detective Adrian Villegas at (559) 600-8210.