One Arrested in Connection with UC Berkeley Student's Murder

An arrest has been made in connection with the murder of UC Berkeley senior Chris Wootton, 21, who was fatally stabbed outside a sorority house early this morning.

The suspect is a 20-year-old Berkeley resident Andrew Thomas Hoeft-Edenfield, who has been booked at Berkeley Jail Facility on one count of murder. It is unknown at this time whether Hoeft-Edenfield is a UC Berkeley student.

Wootton, originally from Bellflower, Calif., was found in the parking lot outside of sorority house Chi Omega at 2434 Warring St. at around 2:45 a.m.

The parking lot is two doors down from the fraternity Sigma Pi, where friends say he was a member.

There was a crowd of approximately 20 people surrounding Wootton when police found him, police said. Wootton was a senior nuclear engineering student.

Just prior, police received a report of a "young man brandishing a knife" in the rear of the Chi Omega house, at 2421 Piedmont Ave., said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss. When police arrived there, they were directed to the Warring Street address.

Wootton was treated on-scene by the Berkeley Fire Department for a stab wound to the upper torso, police said. He was then transported to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley where he was pronounced dead.

Police homicide detectives said they were able to elicit leads in the investigation which helped lead to the arrest.

According to a statement put out by the Berkeley Police Department, witnesses to the incident said that both Hoeft-Edenfield and Wootton were part of a large group involved in a verbal exchange. Police say the exchange soon turned violent and Hoeft-Edenfield allegedly fatally stabbed Wooton in his upper chest.

Hoeft-Edenfield allegedly tossed a bloody knife and ran westward on Channing Way, the statement said.

Kusmiss said that though police do not know if Wootton was intoxicated, they know that a number of people in the crowd surrounding him were.

According to Kusmiss, there were no parties last night at either Sigma Pi or Chi Omega, but there were several parties in the neighborhood.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau released a statement today, offering help to the campus community.

"This futile and senseless killing is a loss felt by us all, including his teachers, friends, and especially his fraternity brothers at Sigma Pi," he said in the statement. "We understand that he was to start graduate school in nuclear engineering at Cal this fall. Our student services and Tang Center staff are reaching out to help those who are most immediately affected by this tragic incident."

According to Birgeneau, Wootton would have graduated this month.

Police say they are asking anyone with information about this crime to call the Berkeley police department homicide detail at 510-981-5741 or 510-981-5900.

Students who are distressed or need assistance coping with anxiety or depression may contact Counseling and Psychological Services at 510-642-9494; faculty and staff may contact CARE Services at 510-643-7754.

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Tags: SIGMA PI, CHI OMEGA, HOMICIDE, ANDREW THOMAS HOEFT-EDENFIELD, CHRIS WOOTTON