A would-be burglar will face trial in the death of an 84-year-old Norristown man

It’s not clear exactly how 84-year-old Fred Silverwood sustained the head injury that eventually killed him, prosecutors said Wednesday. Whether he fell or was beaten, they said, the injury happened during an attempted burglary at his Norristown home, and the man who tried to break in that day is responsible for his death.

Tran Forbes, 41, has been charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, loitering, and criminal mischief in the death of Silverwood, whose wife, Rose, found him collapsed and bleeding inside their home in January, according to investigators.

“Even though he died a few weeks later, that cause of death was a direct result of this burglary.”

The rear door of the couple’s home had been forced in, smashed so hard that it came off its doorjamb, prosecutors said. Surveillance footage from nearby homes recorded a man matching Forbes’ description walking around the neighborhood and ringing doorbells around the time of the break-in.

One video, played during Forbes’ preliminary hearing Wednesday, showed him speaking with Silverwood about a half-hour before the break-in, asking if “Maria” was home and giving a visibly confused Silverwood a fake name.

Forbes, of Norristown, was arrested days after the incident, and charged with burglary, criminal trespass, and reckless endangerment. That case is pending.

Silverwood died about a week later of complications from a blunt-force injury to his head, a county coroner ruled. The manner of his death remains undetermined, but prosecutors say Forbes is to blame.

Silverwood’s wife testified Wednesday that he was never the same after the incident and lost his ability to speak.

On the night of the burglary, Rose Silverwood had gone upstairs to take a shower, leaving her husband alone on the first floor, she said Wednesday. As she was making her way back downstairs, she heard a crash and called to her husband to see if he was OK.

Hearing no answer, she ran downstairs and found him lying on the floor next to their bloodstained couch. The home’s rear door had been nearly torn off its hinges, and the glass storm door had been shattered. A glove found in the Silverwoods’ backyard contained DNA matching Forbes’, prosecutors said.

Silverwood’s wife, Rose, testified Wednesday that he was never the same after the incident and lost his ability to speak.

Forbes’ attorney, James Lyons, said Wednesday that, despite being the prime suspect in the burglary, there was no direct evidence that Forbes attacked the elderly homeowner. It’s more likely, Lyons said, that Forbes’ alleged attempts to break in startled Silverwood, causing him to fall and injure himself.

“He didn’t have time to go in there and bash someone in the head, as far as this evidence shows,” said Lyons, who noted that Forbes was recorded walking around the Silverwoods’ neighborhood shortly after the alleged break-in.

Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull disagreed, saying Silverwood’s death was a “direct and substantial result” of Forbes’ attempt to break in.

“This was an unbroken chain of events during which Mr. Silverwood died,” Kull said. “Even though he died a few weeks later, that cause of death was a direct result of this burglary.”

Magisterial District Judge Margaret Hunsicker agreed and held Forbes for trial on all charges.