Community Mourns Shocking Loss of Senior

The tragic death of UC Berkeley senior Chris Wootton, 21, has left those who knew him shocked and in mourning. Wootton was fatally stabbed during a fight outside a sorority house early Saturday morning.

Wootton, who was a member of the fraternity Sigma Pi, is remembered by those who knew him as an intelligent student who loved God, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the video game Guitar Hero.

Police found Wootton, originally from Bellflower, Calif., in the Warring Street parking lot of the sorority Chi Omega around 2:45 a.m. Saturday.

Police say he was stabbed by Berkeley resident Andrew Hoeft-Edenfield, 20, who was arrested later in the day.

Hoeft-Edenfield was booked into the Berkeley City Jail on one count of murder.

The parking lot where Wootton was found is two doors down from Sigma Pi, where he was a member.

Friends said Wootton always made friends and family his highest priority.

"Chris was as loyal as anyone could ever be," said Joe Mazzella, president of Sigma Pi and Wootton's roommate. "He was the most loyal friend. He put his family first but his friends were close behind."

Joshua Wootton, Chris' older brother who had flown up from Southern California, said Wootton "was just brilliant."

Wootton was on track to graduate with a degree in nuclear engineering later this month.

Professors in the UC Berkeley's nuclear engineering department said Wootton was one of their stand-out students and had been accepted to their graduate program.

Jasmina Vujic, the chair of the department, said Wootton was an "extremely popular and extremely smart kid" who turned down attending graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to attend UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley senior Katie Leary, who has been friends with Wootton since they lived together in Unit 2 their freshman year, said he loved attending Cal football games.

"(Wootton) was always really friendly, he would talk to you-he was a fun person to have in the dorm," she said.

UC Berkeley senior Ryan Rudnitsky, a member of Sigma Pi, said that Wootton was always easy-going and people were always eager to spend time with him.

"When he was going to do something, everyone would be excited that he was involved," he said.

Leary said a group of 15 to 20 of Wootton's friends and fraternity brothers gathered at Sigma Pi yesterday at 5 p.m. to watch local newscasts.

"Everyone was pretty quiet, and it was just somber," she said.

Just prior to finding Wootton, 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 parking lot on Warring Street, where Wootton was surrounded by a group of 20 college-age people.

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.

Witnesses to the incident said that both Hoeft-Edenfield and Wootton were part of a large group involved in a verbal exchange for unknown reasons, police said.

Kusmiss said police suspect alcohol was

involved in the altercation but she said they do not know if either Wootton or Hoeft-Edenfield were intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Mazzella said Wootton made lasting contributions to the fraternity.

"He was always looking after everyone," Mazzella said. "He cared about the house so much. When he saw something good he wanted it to be appreciated, so he started the 'Brother of the Week' award that we give out at weekly meetings."

Friends said they would always remember Wootton's optimism and enthusiasm.

"He was always very positive, he was was a person who would always try to look on the good side," Rudnitsky said.

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