A 76‑year‑old Pinole woman, Vera Chang Rowsey, died from injuries sustained during an an attack at Bayfront Park on Wednesday, May 28, at about 2 p.m., the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office confirmed.
She and her husband, Dave Rowsey, were walking their dog when a suspect unknown to them — identified as 27‑year‑old Miguel Patino of Richmond — allegedly attacked them with a blunt object. Vera Rowsey suffered fatal brain trauma as a result, according to reports from police and from friends of the victim online. Her husband, Dave Rowsey, reportedly suffered a broken jaw in the attack.
Responding officers quickly obtained suspect descriptions and later arrested Patino at his Richmond home. He was booked into Martinez Detention Facility on charges of aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon other than a firearm, and elder abuse.
News of Vera Rowsey’s passing shocked the community. She was described in social media groups as a former middle school teacher and former principal at De Anza High and Pinole Middle. She grew up in El Sobrante, graduated from De Anza High and was also a former BART police officer and a dispatcher for the Richmond Police Department, according to her brother Daryl Chang. Her husband is a retired BART police sergeant.
Vera was also highly active in the community, participating in the West County Forum, tennis and dancing. She is survived by her husband, children, grandchildren, and many friends.
In a tribute on the “De Anza High Class of ’65‑66” Facebook group, a former classmate called Rowsey a “treasured friend in my De Anza days. Visits to her family’s hilltop house filled with poetry, music and great conversation about important topics of the day were so important to my starting to think about the kind of adult I hoped to become. A terrible end. She will be deeply missed.”
