GREAT FALLS — An elderly man whose throat was slit in Black Eagle on Thursday remains hospitalized at Benefis Health System, and friends are rallying to support him.
The man's name is Clyde Wall, and his son Anthony Kevin Wall made his initial court appearance in Great Falls on Friday, facing a charge of attempted deliberate homicide.
Katrina Ain Jaoui has created a GoFundMe account to raise money to help Clyde with medical and other expenses associated with his treatment and recovery. She explained that Clyde is a very dear friend to many in the community of Great Falls. The GoFundMe page reads, in part:
"He has been a resident and a business owner here for years, running the Campus Barber Shop with passion and a loving touch to rival anyplace else, even into his 70's. As of the evening of the 27th, he is still in the ICU, and we have no idea when he will be able to return home. A tragedy like this puts so much strain on not only the victim, but his family, both emotionally and financially. We would like to ease some of that ache, and though we cannot heal broken hearts, we hope to at least make a dent in the mounting hospital bills and rent for the Barber Shop. It's the least we could do for such a loved member of our community, especially during the holiday season."
Another person involved in creating the GoFundMe told KRTV: "He's a very sweet man who doesn't make enough money to retire, so he works day in and day out despite being old and tired."
Click here if you would like to donate to help Clyde. If you would like to donate but aren't able to via GoFundMe, you can stop by A Diamond In The Ruff pet salon at 1100 24th Street South.
Ain Jaoui and Kierra Johnson said Clyde has been part of the Great Falls community for years, running a barber shop into his 70s. “He’s been a part of this community for a really really long time i feel like he has a lot of people who really love and care about him that will jump to help him out when he needs it most,” Johnson said.
They hope the donations will help alleviate some of the financial burden that comes with the hospital bills and rent for his barber shop. Their current goal is to raise at least $50,000.
Johnson described Clyde Wall as “sunshine” and hopes to help bring light to this tragedy in the form of financial support. “Ever since we moved in, he’s been a wonderful neighbor. He’s just such a cheerful old man. We love him,” Johnson said.
When Anthony made his court appearance on Friday, a prosecutor said of Anthony, "While he does not have any felony history, his misdemeanor history includes domestic violence, and domestic violence against the same victim in this case." There is no mention in court documents of any possible motive for the incident, which happened at the Wall house on 15th Street in Black Eagle.
As of Friday, Clyde was listed as being in critical condition at Benefis.
DEC 27: Wall charged with attempted deliberate homicide
NOTE: KRTV standard practice is to not identify crime victims by name; in this case, however, Clyde's name has been shared publicly across social media and in court documents, and identifying him is necessary in order to provide context to this article.
