Friends, family raise money for UCLA alumnus stabbed on Christmas Eve
John DeMartini, who was attacked on the walk to his L.A. apartment on Dec. 24, takes a picture in his hospital room in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. (Courtesy of Linda DeMartini)
By Eliza Blackorby
Dec. 31, 2014 3:48 p.m.
Friends and family of a UCLA alumnus are raising money to cover his medical expenses after a man stabbed him on the walk home to his L.A. apartment on Christmas Eve.
John DeMartini was walking with groceries at about 5:45 p.m. outside an animal hospital 4 miles south of UCLA when a man attacked him, said his mother, Linda DeMartini. The animal hospital was about three blocks from his apartment.
The man did not steal any of John DeMartini’s belongings, Linda DeMartini added.
Friends of John DeMartini have set up a fundraising website for individuals to contribute to his medical expenses and a recovery fund, his mother said.
DeMartini’s University of California health insurance had recently expired, which led friends to create the fundraising page, said his sister, Dawna DeMartini.
The fundraising goal is $25,000, and individuals have already donated more than $11,000, according to the website.
Los Angeles police officers arrested a man later on Dec. 24 in connection with the attack, and he appeared in court Monday, Linda DeMartini added. The Los Angeles police detective investigating the case did not immediately return a call for comment.
DeMartini was wounded on his arm, hip, flank, neck and trachea, Linda DeMartini said.
Paramedics took DeMartini to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where he was put in the intensive care unit after six hours in the operating room, she added.
He began to recover so well that more than one person in the hospital called him a Christmas miracle, Linda DeMartini said.
DeMartini graduated from UCLA in June with a master’s degree in linguistics and has lived in his Palms apartment for the past three years, Linda DeMartini said. He left the hospital on Monday, she added.
“The support has just been absolutely amazing,” she said. “This will help cover medical bills and day-to-day living expenses until he’s ready to go back to work.”
Compiled by Eliza Blackorby, Bruin contributor.
