As the body of Jessica Lunsford was being excavated from its Florida hiding place, at the hands of a man who saw her, took her, and killed her, another horrifying crime was taking place in my own neighborhood in the Berkeley Hills.

A 75 year old woman and her husband were walking along Euclid Avenue, where it runs between the Rose Garden and Codornices Park. It is one of the most spectacularly beautiful urban scenes in the world, with panoramic views of San Francisco, the Bay, and its bridges on one side, and a hillside of architectural landmark houses and public spaces, including Bernard Maybek's classicist masterpiece Rose Walkаand the modernistаGreenwood Common.

The elderly couple were walking home from a continuing education class at the University of California. The North Gate to its campus stands at the foot of Euclid Avenue, less than a mile away. They moved aside to make room on the sidewalk to allow a pair of girls to walk by them. Suddenly, one of the girls

grabbed Kate around the neck and slashed her throat with an 8—inch butcher knife all the way to a bone in what police say was an apparently random attack. Kate struggled briefly with her attacker, who released her. Then she reached up to her neck. "It was spurting blood," she said from a hospital bed Friday. "It was just astonishing."

Fortunately, the knife narrowly missed the important veins and arteries in the victim's neck, and she survived the brutal and senseless attack. The area usually has many people enjoying its parks and views, and witnesses were able to see the attackers drive off in a very expensive car, a BMW M—3 convertible. Unless the car was stolen, these were not underprivileged children. Police relied on tips and arrested a 16 year old Oakland girl. Presumably, the license plate led them to her, though details are not yet available.

Because of the Supreme Court's recent ruling, this human monster will never face the death penalty. In fact, I worry that the tender mercies of the juvenile justice system will have her back on the streets of my neighborhood before very long, full of whatever demons led her to nearly decapitate my neighbor.

What could have motivated such an attack on strangers literally passing by? Could it be race, the foremost cause of random hate in today's America? The Chronicle does not identify the attacker by race, which often indicates membership in a minority. Or could it be a wealthy and pampered child acting out, after a childhood where no boundaries were ever set? Because the suspect is a juvenile, we may never know. However, when attacks are so savage, and purely random, and when the suspect presents such an obvious danger to the citizenry, shouldn't we have a right to know the names and details of the suspects?

I hope the suspect will be tried as an adult. The crime merits it.

Thomas Lifsonаа 3 19 05