May 13, 2008

Making sense of tragedy

College student dies from head injuries after attack at Giants game

By Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writer

As the grieving parents of Anthony Giraudo made funeral arrangements Monday, stunned students at three Peninsula high schools preparing for graduation festivities tried to make sense of the tragic death of a teenager whose head banged into the pavement after he was punched during a brawl outside AT&T Park during a Giants game.

"It's obviously really scary and shocking," said Lauren Kowtko, a student at Carlmont High School in Belmont, which senior Taylor Buckley attended until his arrest this weekend in connection with Giraudo's death.

"There are all these mixed-up stories, and people don't really know what happened even if they say they do," said Hunter Lee, another Carlmont student. "I'm not even sure if my story's straight."

At Woodside High School, from which Giraudo had graduated last year, guidance counselor Maureen Campbell said "a lot of kids are upset. He (Giraudo) was very popular." She noted that some Woodside students knew both Buckley and Giraudo, making it even harder for them to process the event that ended the life of the popular football and baseball player.

Although some Carlmont students had mixed feelings about Buckley, many agreed it was a tragedy all the way around.

"It was bad luck," said Daniel Lopiparo, a friend on the Carlmont football team with Buckley, who played wide receiver and defensive back. "Taylor is always laughing and making other people laugh. He's not aggressive."

"Killing him was an accident," said Carlmont student Kat Doyle. Asked whether Buckley was violent, she said not particularly. "He gets in normal fights with guys."

Somber relatives and friends of Anthony Giraudo came from as far away as Colorado, Oregon and San Diego to pay their respects at the family's house in Redwood City and at San Francisco General Hospital, said the teenager's uncle, Jim Giraudo.

"We have a very large family and it is indescribable the sorrow and the pain (we feel) over a life that was taken so early," he said.

Anthony Giraudo, 18, was fatally injured just outside AT&T Park on Friday night near the end of a Giants game, San Francisco police said.

"There was some type of argument taking place and the suspect punched the victim, causing him to fall to the ground," San Francisco police Sgt. Wilfred Williams said.

The teenager hit his head on the pavement when knocked down about 9:45 p.m. in an area outside the ballpark's center field stands known as Seals Plaza, said Williams, adding that it's unclear whether he was leaving the Giants game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Buckley, 18, of San Carlos, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault, and he posted bail a short time later, Williams said. But when authorities learned that Anthony Giraudo died Saturday, they issued a $1 million arrest warrant for Buckley and urged him to turn himself in. He surrendered to authorities at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the San Francisco Hall of Justice.

Police said Buckley is being held without bail on suspicion of homicide, and formal charges likely will be filed today. Officials from the San Francisco District Attorney's Office could not be reached for comment Monday.

San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office officials said they had not received the case and no autopsy has been scheduled.

Anthony Giraudo's parents, Sheri and Bob, were busy making funeral and other arrangements as family and friends continued to stream in and out of the house Monday. The teenager is also survived by his brother Andrew, 25, and sister Alyssa, 21.

Anthony Giraudo was brain-dead by the time he arrived at the hospital Friday night but was kept on life support so his organs could be harvested for donation, Jim Giraudo said. The teenager's death certificate was issued sometime Saturday.

Jim Giraudo said he was told that his nephew - a die-hard Giants fan whose family has season tickets - attended the game with some of his buddies, including one female friend. Some other guys started harassing her, and Anthony Giraudo was assaulted when he asked them to stop, Jim Giraudo said.

"He would be the last one to start a fight, but if something was going down, he wouldn't back down," Jim Giraudo said.

"Someone came out of the blue and sucker-punched him from the side. We heard he was hit twice," Jim Giraudo said. "We do know it was not a fight. He didn't start anything."

Sgt. Williams said police are still investigating to determine whether more people were involved in Anthony Giraudo's death, and it is unclear whether anyone else will be arrested.

In addition to being a peacemaker, Anthony Giraudo was described by his uncle as "funny and fun-loving, and an all-American 18-year-old boy" who liked the usual things guys his age like, including cars.

Lars Lund, the principal at Serra High School in San Mateo where Sheri Giraudo works as a cafeteria server and where Anthony Giraudo went to school during his freshman and sophomore years, e-mailed parents Monday about the tragedy.

"Please keep Sheri, her husband Bob, and their children in your prayers," Lund wrote. "Many of our students are having a very difficult time dealing with such a tragic and deeply upsetting turn of events."

Lund indicated that counselors, campus ministers and teachers are on hand for students who may need someone to talk to in the wake of Anthony Giraudo's death.

Buckley's classmates at Carlmont were also coping with the tragedy Monday.

"The school's not paying it a lot of attention, but everyone's talking about it," Carlmont sophomore Jamie Katz said.

Freshman Nathan Price said his teachers avoided talking about the teenager's death, and he was told not to mention it.

Giants officials called Friday's assault rare and declined to comment about what additional security precautions, if any, they would take following the death.

The last deadly incident at a Giants game occurred in September 2004, when Redwood City resident Timothy Griffith, 21, was stabbed to death. The suspect in that slaying, Rafael Cuevas, 26, of Daly City, is on trial for homicide.

"We've had 25 million people come to our ballpark and we've had very few incidents," said Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter.

A rosary for Anthony Giraudo will be said at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at St. Pius Catholic Church, 1100 Woodside Road, in Redwood City. The funeral Mass is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at the church.



Daily News Correspondent Sarah Frier contributed to this report.



E-mail Mark Abramson at mabramson@dailynewsgroup.com.