May 14, 2008

No murder charge in Giants death

Carlmont senior to be arraigned today

By Will Oremus and Mark Abramson / Daily News Staff Writers

The Carlmont High School senior whose punch outside a San Francisco Giants game that allegedly led to the death of 18-year-old Anthony Giraudo will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris said Tuesday.

If convicted, 18-year-old Taylor Buckley, of San Carlos, would face up to four years in state prison.

Calling the case "tragic all around," Harris explained she would not charge the young man with murder, which could have brought a far stiffer sentence. Murder involves malice and intent to kill, while involuntary manslaughter suggests the victim happened to die in the course of a lesser crime, such as assault.

California courts in the past have overturned murder convictions in one- and two-punch cases, Harris noted.

Buckley will likely be the only person charged in the death, she added, but declined to comment further on exactly what transpired.

San Francisco police have said Buckley punched Giraudo once in the face in an altercation outside AT&T Park about 9:45 p.m. Friday. Giraudo, a Woodside High School graduate in his first year at Canada College, fell and hit his head on the pavement. The fall left him brain-dead.

He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital and placed on life support while his organs were harvested for donation. He was declared dead Saturday.

"My sympathy and heart goes out to the family of the victim," Harris said Tuesday. "He was a young man who clearly had a bright future ahead of him."

Buckley's attorney, Douglas Horngrad, said he is "gratified" that the charge against his client was involuntary manslaughter.

"This was never a murder case," he said. "Taylor did not intend for this to happen."

Initially arrested on suspicion of assault and released on $50,000 bail, Buckley became the subject of a homicide investigation after Giraudo died. He turned himself in at the San Francisco Hall of Justice on Saturday night and was jailed, with bail set at $1 million.

Buckley was temporarily placed under psychiatric observation before being moved into the general jail population sometime Monday, Horngrad said.

Asked about his client's state of mind Tuesday, Horngrad said, "He's devastated by this young man's death. He's remorseful, and under the circumstances, I'd say he's doing as well as could be expected."

Horngrad said he will ask for reduced bail when Buckley is arraigned at 9 a.m. today.

Family members of Giraudo have said they heard he was "sucker punched" by Buckley after standing up for a female friend who was being harassed. John Giraudo, an uncle of Anthony, said Tuesday the family did not want to speak further about the case prior to the trial.

"We're still trying to digest it," he said.



E-mail Will Oremus at woremus@dailynewsgroup.com.