A would-be burglar who caused the stress-related heart attack death of 88-year-old veterinarian Clark Kelly at his animal clinic was sentenced March 19 to four years in county jail.
Because Patrick Timothy O’Brien, 39, has already served almost half his sentence in jail, he will likely be released in April to serve on mandatory supervision, it was announced at his sentencing.
During a preliminary hearing in May, 2023, a recorded call Kelly made to police was played in which Kelly’s voice grew weaker as he explained to a dispatcher a man was trying to break into Boulevard Animal Clinic on El Cajon Boulevard on June 15, 2022 at 3:29 p.m.
Kelly eventually collapsed on the phone and his head struck either a filing cabinet or the floor, causing some blood loss. O’Brien had not penetrated into the office. The cause of death was a stress-induced heart attack, and not the injury to his head.
“You literally scared Dr. Kelly to death,” said San Diego Superior Court Judge Rachel Cano to O’Brien.
O’Brien pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and a murder charge was dismissed. The maximum sentence was four years in prison.
“Nobody should ever hear their parent die from a (recording) of a 911 call,” said Dr. Karen Kelly, a daughter of Clark Kelly who also became a veterinarian. “Our lives will never be the same.”
Karen Kelly said her, mother, now 81, “found him lying on the floor with blood splattered everywhere.” She said they had to close the 60-year business and sell everything.
O’Brien turned around in the glass jail module in the courtroom and refused to face any of the family members while they spoke.
“Justice will never be served for my beloved father. You devastated and destroyed us,” said Karen Kelly. “You committed a horrific crime. My heart is broken in a million pieces.
“He made society a better place. He was a peaceful man. He was a gentle and kind soul,” said Kelly about her father.
Anita Anderson, a friend, said she knew Clark Kelly for 50 years and his death was “a crushing loss.” She described him as “a brilliant man,” adding “our hearts are beyond shattered.
Attorney Peter Will, who represents O’Brien, said he did not leave the area at the time of the incident, in part because he had an “infected swollen leg” at the time. Will said O’Brien was “deeply sorry” about the veterinarian’s death.
Will said O’Brien did not enter the clinic’s space and he remained outside. A burglary charge was not filed.
Cano ordered O’Brien to pay $10,889.48 in restitution which includes payments to the California victim compensation fund for Kelly’s funeral and other costs.
Once O’Brien is released, he will have to wear a GPS tracker device.
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