Police find no obvious motive in UCLA slashing

[question everything]

latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-stabbing10-2009oct10,0,7704592.story

latimes.com

Police find no obvious motive in UCLA slashing
Suspect Damon Thompson sometimes acted erratically, officials say. He is being held on $1-million bond and will be arraigned Tuesday. The victim, a fellow student, shows improvement.

By Larry Gordon and Robert Faturechi

October 10, 2009

Detectives investigating the case of a UCLA student who allegedly slashed the throat of a classmate have still not discovered what prompted the violence and are looking into reports that he showed erratic behavior in the past that had worried other students, authorities said Friday. Investigators said they will continue to examine the background and mental health of the suspect, Damon Thompson, 20, a senior who came from Belize to attend UCLA. But nothing so far points to a direct motive for what appeared to be an unprovoked knife attack in an organic chemistry lab class on Thursday afternoon. The 20-year-old victim was reported to be recovering Friday.

(snip)

The UCLA media relations office released a terse statement after reports that Thompson sometimes behaved erratically, including keeping odd hours and sometimes making disconnected-sounding outbursts. "While Thompson was known to our Student Affairs Office prior to the incident, privacy laws preclude us from discussing it," the statement said. Campus spokesman Phil Hampton said that the Student Affairs Office includes psychological counseling services but he declined to say whether psychologists had ever treated Thompson. Relatives in Fontana said Friday they do not believe that Thompson would commit a violent act.

(snip)

UCLA police said Friday that there are no records of any complaints filed against Thompson and that he had no campus arrests. A student who had some interaction with Thompson in a UCLA dorm last school year described him as "an eccentric guy" who would wake up at 3 a.m. and start tidying up other people's possessions. This student, who asked not to be identified because of the circumstances of the case, said Thompson sometimes made statements that seemed to have little bearing on reality. But he said he was unaware if concerns had been reported to officials.

The victim's family, who asked authorities not to identify her, issued a statement Friday saying that she "is showing signs of improvement, and her surgeons expect a good result as she continues to heal." Her parents expressed gratitude to the police and emergency responders, and "for the excellent medical care she is receiving at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center."

Thompson, an only child who had no other close family in the United States, frequently stayed at his relatives' home in Fontana. "He was even nice to my dog," said cousin Jabari Williams, 16. Akilah Williams said her only complaint was that Thompson occasionally raided the refrigerator. "He would eat everything," she said. "I mean everything."

(snip)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. They may not have found any reasons...

But those reasons exist, and should be found.

For the young lady's sake, and so the young man can be helped, if that is what is needed.

[question everything]

2. UCLA professor reported concerns about stabbing suspect last year

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla-stab11-2009oct11,0,1981002.story


UCLA professor reported concerns about stabbing suspect last year
Stephen Frank told university officials he was concerned about Damon Thompson's mental health after the student sent him several e-mails accusing classmates of taunting him and disrupting his exams.

By Andrew Blankstein and Larry Gordon

October 11, 2009

A UCLA professor who taught the student accused of slashing a female classmate's throat last week said Saturday that he told a university administrator 10 months ago that he had concerns about the student's mental health, but strict federal privacy laws prevent UCLA officials from disclosing how they handled the issue.

Stephen Frank, an associate professor in the university's history department, met the suspect, undergraduate student Damon Thompson, when he enrolled in the instructor's Western civilization class late last year, Frank said in an interview. Frank said he grew concerned about Thompson in mid-December 2008, after the student sent several e-mails complaining that classmates sitting around him had been disruptive and made offensive comments to him while he was taking a written exam. In one of the e-mails that Frank provided to The Times, Thompson, 20, also accused Frank of taunting him.

"I believe I heard you, Professor Frank, say that I was 'troubled' and 'crazy' among other things," Thompson wrote in the e-mail. "My outrage at this situation coupled with the pressure of the very weighted examination dulled my concentration and detracted from my performance." Frank, who was present during the entire exam, said that Thompson sat in the front row during the test and that he saw nothing to support Thompson's complaints. In addition, Frank said he asked several teaching assistants in attendance about the complaints. The assistants told him they saw nothing unusual, Frank said.

(snip)

Soon after the exam, Frank said, an official from the dean of students' office telephoned him to discuss a complaint by Thompson concerning the final exam. The official told Frank that he had met with Thompson several times to discuss the issue. Frank said he was told that other professors had reported similar exchanges with Thompson, who complained he was the constant target of taunts from students across campus -- in dorms, dining areas and the library. To Frank, the e-mails he received from Thompson indicated the student was in need of serious help. Frank said he urged university officials to take action. An official told Frank that they could only suggest to Thompson that he seek treatment, but they could not require him to seek psychological services.

(snip)

Thompson, who is from Belize and was in his final year as an undergraduate student, is accused of slashing the throat of a female classmate during a chemistry class. He is being held on $1-million bail on suspicion of attempted murder and is expected to be arraigned Tuesday. Investigators so far have discovered no motivation for the attack on the 20-year-old woman, whose condition is improving, according to family members.