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David Edward ATTIAS

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Classification: Homicide
Characteristics: Vehicular homicide - Drugs
Number of victims: 4
Date of murders: February 23, 2001
Date of arrest: Same day
Date of birth: May 6, 1982
Victims profile: Nicholas Bourdakis, Christopher Divis, Elie Israel and Ruth Levy
Method of murder: Run over with car
Location: Santa Barbara County, California, USA
Status: Found guilty and legally insane on June 11, 2002. Sentenced to a mental hospital
 
 
 
 
 
 

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'I heard him punch the gas'

Four killed in Isla Vista

By Joshua Molina and Scott Hadly - Santa Barbara News-Press

February 25, 2001

The 18-year-old UCSB student who allegedly slammed his 1991 Saab into five pedestrians, killing four, shouted "I am the Angel of Death" moments after the Isla Vista collision, according to several eyewitnesses.

Authorities arrested David Edward Attias Friday night after he allegedly sped through a stop sign, sideswiped nine parked vehicles on Sabado Tarde Road, and then hit the pedestrians.

Witnesses said he accelerated to speeds in excess of 60 mph as he raced down the street packed with weekend revelers.

"I heard him punch the gas right about mid-block there," Daniel Conway, a 20-year-old UCSB sophomore, said Saturday.

Conway and his girlfriend, Heather Vaniman, also 20, were going up the stairs of Vaniman's apartment when Attias allegedly sideswiped the first parked car.

"It happened really fast," he said. "At first we didn't know he had hit anyone."

But when Attias' badly damaged car came to rest, the injured and the dead were strewn in a line down the street, along with shoes, car parts and broken glass. Following the collision, a crowd of about 100 people rushed to the scene and some tried to subdue Attias.

The two UCSB students killed have been identified as Nicholas Shaw Bourdakis, 20, originally from Contra Costa County, and Christopher Edward Divis, also 20, from Vista in San Diego County. Both lived in Isla Vista. The remaining dead have not been identified, pending notification of next of kin.

One of the dead was a 27-year-old male from San Francisco. His roommate, Albert Arthur Levy, also 27, is in critical condition with major head and leg injuries. The fourth person killed is believed to be a Santa Barbara City College student and reportedly Levy's sister.

Attias, who previously lived in Santa Monica, was arrested on suspicion of four counts of vehicular homicide. He remains in custody at the County Jail. Investigators believe Attias was under the influence of drugs, but he refused to take a Breathalyzer test, said CHP officer Mike Muell. Authorities forced him to take a blood test, but the results won't be ready for several days. Based on Attias' rapid heart rate and the dilation of his pupils, a drug-recognition expert believes he was under the influence of controlled substances, Muell said.

Immediately after the accident, Vaniman, who recently completed a first aid and CPR course at school, grabbed a first aid kit and ran to Attias' car.

"It was my first instinct, you know, to help the driver," she said.

Wide-eyed and belligerent, he ripped off his seat belt and got out of the car.

"I don't know if he was on drugs or if it was just alcohol and adrenaline, but I left him and went to the first victim I saw," Vaniman said. That person had severe neck injuries and was bleeding profusely.

Vaniman was going to attempt CPR, but immediately saw that it was no use because of his wounds.

"Any air that you would blow in would immediately come out," she said.

Meanwhile Attias was jumping around his car, pulling at his clothes, yelling and taking swings at the crowd that was gathering around the accident scene, witnesses said.

"He was trying to punch everyone," said UCSB student Ryan Martin, who lives in an apartment in front of the accident scene. "He was yelling out satanic stuff. Fights were breaking out. The whole thing was bizarre."

Several witnesses heard him say, "I am the Angel of Death," while he flailed around. A few in the crowd tried to subdue him; others were hitting him back.

Much of the confusion was recorded by Sevan Matossian and Greg Shields, two filmmakers who have a cable access show on Isla Vista. They arrived within a few minutes of the accident. The footage was seized in the morning by Sheriff's deputies as evidence, but the filmmakers retained a copy.

"It was like nothing I've ever seen before," Shields said. "It just seemed like piles of bodies. And there were all these people surrounding the guy (Attias)."

Within minutes over 100 people were on the block, many attending to the victims, others surrounding Attias, who was yelling.

"All I heard was him screaming 'angel something,'Ę" Vaniman said. "But he was wired."

Others were walking almost in a daze with the understanding that all the victims but one were dead and there was nothing to do to help them. In the footage shot by Matossian, Attias is seen jumping around, kicking at spectators and fighting with them before several young men grab him and began to hit him. At one point he falls on the ground and appears to kick at those surrounding him, who are alternatively yelling at him and telling him to calm down.

After snaking loose from the spectators, Attias jumps up and down as if he is getting ready to fight, when a Sheriff's deputy strikes him with a baton and knocks him to the ground. When the deputies handcuff him and put him in the patrol car, one person can be heard on the videotape saying, "Good thing they got him in the car or someone would have killed him."

The accident took place just after 11 p.m., during the typical party atmosphere associated with Isla Vista on the weekends. Students crowded the streets, walking to and from parties. Students often use Sabado Tarde to get to Del Playa Road, one of the most popular streets for revelry.

Authorities believe that the victims were walking back to their car when they were hit. The CHP found a car belonging to the deceased San Francisco man parked on Embarcadero del Mar, a nearby street, often referred to as "the loop."

Residents and eyewitnesses described the accident scene as grisly. Bodies and body parts were scattered in the middle of the street, in plain view. The impact of the crash knocked some of the victims out of their shoes and socks.

"It's something I'll never forget," said UCSB student Heather Hicks. "It was so surreal."

Hicks was about to walk her dog when she and her boyfriend, Steve Podosek, heard a loud boom in front of their apartment.

"We thought it was just some jerk hitting a Dumpster," she said.

The couple said they saw the bodies and were overwhelmed. They called their parents and wept.

"It hit us so hard," said Hicks, who also heard the driver shout, "I am the Angel of Death."

"No one could go to bed."

Immediately after the accident, a large crowd gathered around the police tape, trying to glimpse the scene.

Within a few minutes, UCSB chancellor Henry T. Yang was on the scene, hugging and comforting crying students.

"This is a terrible tragedy," he said, his voice cracking. "I have never seen anything this bad."

UCSB immediately set up a counseling center at the Isla Vista theater, a few blocks away. The university also arranged for counselors to meet with distraught students at the Student Health Center over the weekend.

On Saturday afternoon, counselors said about a handful of students had been to the health center seeking assistance. Later in the afternoon, at a UCSB basketball game, the fans were asked to devote a moment of silence to remember the victims.

The disaster is certain to raise concerns over celebrations that go on during the weekends in Isla Vista. In fact, county Supervisor Gail Marshall recently proposed having Isla Vista residents obtain permits if they want to have parties attended by more than 100 people, to help control the atmosphere.

Some UCSB officials believe that the proposal may help guard against these sort of situations.

"I think we knew, sensed and felt that there were safety issues in this community," said Dr. Yonie Harris, dean of students at UCSB. "No one ever wants this to happen."

Immediately after the accident, Yang said the tragedy has taught people a lesson.

"I think safety in Isla Vista is of the utmost importance," Yang said. "We will intensify our efforts to solve alcohol-related problems."

Some Isla Vista residents said that nothing could have prevented this disaster.

"You can't instigate programs to prevent this," Podosek said. "You can't protect yourself from something like this. It is so random."

But several students resented the connection between alcohol-fueled parties and a lone young man who appeared to be an intent on harming people.

"This was an act of one crazy person," said Brandon Brooks, a 19-year-old sophomore on the balcony in front of his apartment while looking down at the accident scene. "This wasn't a riot at an out-of-control party. It was some idiot going out of control down a street."

TonyPierce.com

 
 

Director's Son Charged With Murder

ABCNews

Santa Barbara, Calif., Feb. 27, 2001

The arraignment of the son of a television director on charges that he killed four people by running them over with his speeding car has been postponed until next week.

David Attias, an 18-year-old student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, was also charged with vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of drugs.

Attias, who was held without bail, is the son of Daniel Attias, who has directed episodes of Ally McBeal, The Practice and The Sopranos. He refused a breath test after the crash Friday, police said, and the results of drug and alcohol tests were pending.

Authorities said Attias crashed into several cars before barreling into the group at twice the 25 mph speed limit in Isla Vista, an unincorporated hamlet near campus. The street is near UCSB's main party drag and is often packed with students on weekend nights.

Attias' defense attorney was granted the postponement in Santa Barbara Superior Court today. Attias is charged with 13 felony counts — including four counts of murder and five counts of driving while under the influence and causing great bodily injury.

His father, Daniel Attias, was with his wife when he made a brief statement outside the courthouse, saying: "We want to express just how sad we are."

The younger Attias was in the court today behind a glass enclosure, dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit. He talked with his attorney but made no public comment during the brief court appearance.

Witnesses said Attias got out of the car and shouted, "I am the angel of death." A resident videotaped dozens of students circling the driver and preventing him from leaving the scene.

The Attias family did not answer calls to their Santa Monica home Monday, and the name of Attias' attorney was not released.

Suspect Known as 'Crazy Dave'

Classmates and neighbors in the building where Attias lived said he was known as "Crazy Dave" for his erratic behavior. They said he would barge into rooms, follow people into elevators for companionship and invite himself into dining groups at the cafeteria.

"He was always fidgeting. He looked like he was kind of whacked-out," neighbor Zack Chancer told the Los Angeles Times.

A friend of Attias told the Times he had spoken with him by phone over the weekend and the young man had sounded calm but sad.

"He said, 'There's been an accident. Four people are dead,'" said Richard Ramsey of Compton, who said Attias had called him from jail.

On Monday night, hundreds of people, many of them holding candles, returned to the street, standing in a light rain for a quiet memorial service.

Killed in the crash were Nicholas Bourdakis and Christopher Divis, both 20 and UCSB students; Ruth Dasha Golda Levy, 20, a Santa Barbara City College student; and Elie Israel, 27.

Levy's older brother, Albert Levy, also 27, was in critical condition Monday.

 
 

Jury Declares Attias Insane

Attias, Previously Convicted on Four Counts of Second-Degree Murder, Awaits Sentencing

By Marisa Lagos, Staff Writer - Daily Nexus

Thursday, June 6, 2002

David Attias was legally insane on February 23, 2001, when he killed Nicholas Bourdakis, Christopher Divis, Elie Israel and Ruth Levy, and seriously injured Levy’s brother Albert, a jury found on Thursday.

Only a week after the same 12 jurors convicted the 20-year-old UCSB student on four second degree murder charges, they found that Attias was unable to tell the difference between right and wrong that night in Isla Vista.

Attias will now be evaluated by the Tri-County mental health director, who will make a recommendation to the court on July 12. Attias will then be placed in a state mental institution until a court finds him no longer a threat to society, which is different than finding him legally sane.

Attias will be allowed to petition for release as early as 180 days from his committal, but it is unlikely he would be released that soon because of the nature of his actions.

After thanking the jury for their hard work, Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Thomas Adams read the verdict, which the jury spent two days deliberating on, to a packed courtroom. Attias’ parents and grandmother broke into tears, as did Patricia, Bourdakis’ mother. One of the jurors was also crying.

Attias who was notably more alert than he had been during the previous eight weeks in the courtroom, looked pleased.

“David said he was so pleased,” said Nancy Haydt, one of Attias’ attorneys. “And he was looking forward to seeing his family on the weekend when he has visiting hours.”

Outside the courtroom, Bourdakis’ father Anthony said he was angry about the verdict, but expressed his gratitude to assistant district attorney Patrick McKinley and the entire prosecution team for their hard work and dedication to the case.

“First let me say how incredibly disappointed we are with the outcome of the trial,” he said. “By rendering the insanity verdict, the state of California has once again demonstrated to the rest of the country that you can twist the facts to your advantage and get away with murder. The tragedy of what happened can’t be undone and, in our opinion, David Attias will not serve the appropriate time for killing four young people and horribly injuring a fifth.”

McKinley later said outside the courthouse that the Bourdakis family was devastated by the jury’s decision.

“As you can imagine, this is very fresh in their minds. It’s been a difficult grind for them. No matter what the verdict is, now … this serves as a catalyst to either go on with their life or sink again,” he said.

Katie Ziegman, a cousin of the Levys, said she would have rather seen Attias go to jail, but “either way, if he’s off the street, I’m fine with it.”

Daniel Attias, who had not commented on the case since his son was arrested over a year ago, said he was grateful to the jury.

“We want to first express gratitude to the jury and court. We are grateful for the decision. We think it was just,” he said. “We’re mindful that this was a horrible, horrible tragedy. The losses that were incurred on February 23 were permanent and we were shaken and saddened. We’re grateful that the tragedy wasn’t compounded today.”

Attias’ defense team, Jack Earley and Haydt, said they, as well as the entire Attias family, were pleased.

“We’re grateful to the jury,” Earley said. “David will probably spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, and that’s an appropriate place for this to end. … We hope cases like this make people realize mental illness does affect everybody and can have tragic consequences.”

Much of the defense testimony had focused on Attias’ long history of mental illness. Earley said the jury’s decision “tells me that they realized it was not a drug thing, it was not a hate thing, it was a mental health issue. … The problem with this case, as with anything else, is that it’s random. It was a car accident.”

Earley also said that his client “wouldn’t have lasted” in a penitentiary, but that the likelihood of his release from the mental institution, even in years, is small.

“The state mental hospital is not a pretty picture,” he said. “Patton State Hospital [in San Bernadino] is an old, overcrowded unit - there are no frills - … but they are dealing with treatment there.”

McKinley, however, said that what will happen in six months or a year is “anybody’s guess.”

“I think nobody knows,” he said. “He’ll stay there for six months, he may stay there forever. Historically speaking, he will not spend the rest of his life there.”

McKinley said while he recognized Attias’ mental problems since the beginning of the case, he was never convinced that Attias was legally insane when he sped down Sabado Tarde Road, and he fears that the verdict could allow the defendant to make a similar decision again.

The prosecutor, who has worked in the district attorney’s office for over 30 years, said that this case was different than other murder trials he has worked on because of Attias’ mental history, and that the chance of him being allowed into society again was unsettling.

“His history indicates that him going off his meds has been going on since 1995, and unless something changes, that will happen again,” he said. “After the jury went out in the sanity phase, I was thinking a lot about what to do and say if they found him sane, because he is very sick and everyone knows it. [But] this isn’t like the other 20 murder trials I’ve sat in on; … this defendant doesn’t belong on that chain … but I think he’s very dangerous if he’s out because of his non-compliance with his medication. If he drives again, it will be scary.”

The court will meet again on July 12 at 1:30 p.m. in department two of the Santa Barbara Superior Courthouse to evaluate Attias and sentence him to a mental hospital.

 
 

Attias Begins Sentence in Hospital

By Marisa Lagos, Staff Writer - Daily Nexus

Friday, September 20, 2002

David Attias, the former UCSB student who was convicted June 11 of four counts of second-degree murder and found legally insane a week later, is now in Patton State Hospital, where he will spend a maximum of 60 years.

The 20-year-old was on trial for killing Nicholas Bourdakis, Christopher Divis, Elie Israel and Ruth Levy on Feb. 23, 2001, when he sped down Sabado Tarde Road at speeds estimated as high as 60 miles per hour. Attias was also charged with driving under the influence of marijuana resulting in the great bodily injury of Albert Levy, Ruth’s brother, a charge for which he was acquitted.

The murder trial began in April, over one year after the incident occurred, and lasted eight weeks. Prosecuting attorney Patrick McKinley called over 100 witnesses over six weeks, including numerous Isla Vista residents and UCSB students.

Only one week after Attias was found guilty of the murders, the same jury found that he was legally insane at the time of the murders.

After the insanity verdict, which Judge Thomas Adams read on June 19, Attias underwent evaluation by psychiatrists and psychologists at the Ventura County Health and Behavior Unit. The doctors said that because Attias’ crimes were particularly severe and violent, he should be placed in a state hospital specializing in the care and treatment of mental disorders.

Patton is a major forensic mental health facility in San Bernardino operated by the California Department of Mental Health. It currently houses between 1,100 and 1,200 people committed by the judicial system for treatment.

On July 12, Adams agreed with the recommendation and placed Attias in Patton, pending the restoration of his sanity. If Attias does not fully recover, he will be released in 60 years, the time he would have served in prison had the jury found him legally sane at the time of the crime.

Under California law, Attias is allowed to request a court hearing after only 180 days of treatment at Patton; however, Jack Earley, one of Attias’ attorneys, said it is highly unlikely there will be any reason to return to the courtroom that soon. In order to be permanently released, Attias will have to go to trial again, where a jury would have to find him no longer a threat to society.

“What will happen is in 180 days they’ll say he’s not ready to be released and there will be no action taken,” Earley said. “He has the right to file [for a court appearance], but there’s no reason to file until he makes significant improvement. We can expect it will be years before we see anything.”

Earley said that Attias has not yet been permanently housed.

“I haven’t visited, but from [what] I understand, he’s still in the reception center; he doesn’t have permanent housing yet … over the next month or so more stuff will happen. He’ll have more permanent housing and the doctors will be working with him [more intensely],” he said. “Obviously, he has real problems and he obviously has to start working through them … I know he’s grateful for the opportunity to make himself better.”

Abby Pollack, Israel’s mother - who was in court almost every day - expressed disappointment at the verdict.

“I’m just going to assume there will be enough of us present each time David Attias comes up for appeal that Judge Adams will pay close attention to everything and everybody before he says, ‘You’re cured,’” she said.

Judge Adams, who has dealt with the case since it began in 2001, took a few moments after the placement hearing to address the courtroom and those who the case affected. He also wished the entire courtroom, and Attias in particular, luck in the future.

“I have been involved with this case since the moment it occurred. By coincidence, I happened to be the on-call judge contacted [on the night of the incident],” he said. “The parents and loved ones, know you have been in my thoughts and prayers ever since that terrible, fateful early morning.”

Adams also said he felt the scope of the trial extended far beyond Sabado Tarde Road, where the incident occurred.

“It was a tragedy for all concerned and it has touched the hearts of people all across the nation,” he said.

After the insanity verdict, several of the families involved also made public statements regarding the verdicts.

Pollack said she was “puzzled” by the jury’s decision.

“I’ll probably never know quite what happened in the [insanity phase] of the trial. People have given me different ways to interpret how he’s guilty of murder and insane,” she said. “I don’t fault the jury. I think they worked really hard. … But given the way California law works and other sanity cases that have been held recently in California, I was surprised.”

Pollack also praised the district attorney’s office’s work on the case.

“McKinley did a hell of a job,” she said. “That whole office, they worked so hard. Months and months and months of work on [McKinley’s] part, [CHP investigating officer] Dave Robertson, his staff and the county of Santa Barbara … all that painstaking work sort of tossed, gone.”

In June, Bourdakis’ father, Anthony, said he was angry Attias was found insane, but expressed his gratitude to McKinley and the entire prosecution team for their hard work and dedication to the case.

“First let me say how incredibly disappointed we are with the outcome of the trial,” he said. “By rendering the insanity verdict, the state of California has once again demonstrated to the rest of the country that you can twist the facts to your advantage and get away with murder. The tragedy of what happened can’t be undone and, in our opinion, David Attias will not serve the appropriate time for killing four young people and horribly injuring a fifth.”

McKinley later said outside the courthouse that the Bourdakis family was devastated by the jury’s decision.

“As you can imagine, this is very fresh in their minds. It’s been a difficult grind for them. No matter what the verdict is, now … this serves as a catalyst to either go on with their life or sink again,” he said.

Daniel Attias, who had not commented on the case since his son was arrested, said in June that he was grateful to the jury.

“We want to first express gratitude to the jury and court. We are grateful for the decision. We think it was just,” he said. “We’re mindful that this was a horrible, horrible tragedy. The losses that were incurred on February 23 were permanent and we were shaken and saddened. We’re grateful that the tragedy wasn’t compounded [by the jury’s decision].”

Attias’ defense team, Jack Earley and Nancy Haydt, said they, as well as the entire Attias family, were pleased.

“We’re grateful to the jury,” Earley said. “David will probably spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, and that’s an appropriate place for this to end. … We hope cases like this make people realize mental illness does affect everybody and can have tragic consequences.”

The four families of the victims and Albert Levy also filed a wrongful death and personal injury civil case in February against Attias and his parents, Daniel and Diane, which alleges that the parents acted negligently when they entrusted Attias with a car.

Ronald Rouda, the Levy family attorney who is heading up the lawsuits, said the case is not set to go to trial until May 2003.

 

 

 
 
 
 
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