UCLA Student Is Charged With Attempted Murder in Attack
Andrew Blankstein and Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2009
A UCLA student allegedly stabbed a classmate five times and slashed her throat in a crime that prosecutors said Tuesday was premeditated and unprovoked.
Damon Thompson, 20, was charged with one count of attempted murder in Thursday’s attack in a chemistry lab in Young Hall.
If convicted, he could face life in state prison with the possibility of parole.
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Defense attorney Robin B. Berkovitz described her client as a hard-working biochemistry major with no criminal record.
She said his mother flew in from Belize and his father came from out of state to attend the arraignment at the Airport Courthouse in Westchester.
“I was assigned to the case today. There is a lot of information that has yet to be presented,” Berkovitz said Tuesday. “It’s a sad situation for all parties involved.”
Despite initial reports that there had been an argument between the suspect and victim, prosecutors said the attack was unprovoked and that Thompson pulled out a knife and began stabbing the victim for no apparent reason.
Authorities said the victim, identified in court as Katherine Rosen, 20, suffered five stab wounds and a slashed throat.
Rosen was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in critical condition but has been steadily improving, doctors said.
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[Editor’s Note: This story was first reported here.]
