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Court: Former UC student insane when he killed

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A former UC Santa Barbara student was insane when he drove through a crowded Isla Vista street and killed four pedestrians, a jury found Thursday.

David Attias, 20, hugged his attorney and smiled when the verdict was read. The verdict drew tears from Attias’ family and relatives and friends of victims who crowded the courtroom.

Attias was found guilty the week before last of second-degree murder. A jury then began hearing testimony June 13 to determine if he was insane at the time.

Killed were Nicholas Bourdakis, 20; Christopher Divis, 20; Ruth Levy, 20; and Elie Israel, 27. Levy’s 27-year-old brother, Albert Levy, was injured.

Attias had pleaded innocent by reason of insanity.

Spoof issue may get Davis paper in trouble

The spoof issue of UC Davis’ campus paper, released June 7, sparked complaints about sexual and racial references that could lead to an overhaul of the paper’s operations.

Responding to complaints about the year-end parody issue, the student-dominated Campus Media Board agreed Tuesday to consider firing the editor in chief, Fitz Vo, a Vietnamese American who listed himself in the issue as “editor in chink.”

Other controversial items included:

• An image of a phallic symbol digitally superimposed in the middle of children playing on the campus’ two “egghead” sculptures.

• A picture of a white student holding a knife, eyeing a black student who was Davis’ student government president last year.

Vo said he was guilty of lapses of judgement and asked the board to allow him to remain editor.

Parents of boy who drowned in pool suing

The parents of a 7-year-old boy who drowned in a backyard pool in Westwood sued the homeowners, claiming negligence and poor maintenance were responsible for their son’s death.

Paolo Ayala disappeared June 2 after attending a schoolmate’s birthday party. He was missing for about a day before his body was located in the deep end of the pool.

An autopsy showed that the boy had drowned.

The suit filed in Superior Court alleges that Saeed and Kimberly Farkhondehpour were negligent in maintaining the pool and failed to properly supervise Paolo, who did not know how to swim.

Franklin and Eduina Ayala are seeking punitive and special damages.

Briefs compiled from the Associated Press