Couple Struggles After Attack Shatters Their Dreams

Vincent Chirafisi and his pregnant wife, Anna, had big hopes for the coming months. Although they didn’t have much money, the couple figured they could support themselves and the baby on the money from Vincent’s two jobs. Life was hard, but the young couple was happy--until their plans dissolved in early September.

Vincent Chirafisi was stabbed six times Sept. 11 outside his Southeast San Diego apartment complex, leaving him paralyzed on the right side of his body. And the couple, two months behind on the $320 rent of their small apartment, have only $88 to their name.

On Friday, Anna Chirafisi, 22, sat in a small chair surrounded by reporters and cameras on the front lawn of the Victorian-style house occupied by the California Center on Victimology downtown. She said she doesn’t like to talk in front of groups, but she calmly told the story of how her husband, a 24-year-old former Navy man, can now move his thumb but little else on the right side of his body.

“It’s one of those things you hear on the news all the time,” she said. “But you never expect it to happen to you. We are very independent people. We are good people, we don’t smoke or drink, we don’t even go to the movies. I think to myself, what did we do to deserve this?”

The Center on Victimology is asking for donations of food, clothing and furniture for a baby, or money to be donated to the center in the Chirafisis’ name.

According to Lt. Bill Baxter, San Diego police spokesman, Vincent Chirafisi was at home with his wife Sept. 11 when he complained to his neighbors about an ongoing noise problem. The two neighbors asked Chirafisi to follow them outside to the apartment complex’s parking area. When he reached the parking lot, the two neighbors were joined by two friends and began beating Chirafisi on the head and body with rocks and sticks. Four youths then sat on Chirafisi, repeatedly stabbing him. Anna Chirafisi was struck by the assailants during the attack but was not injured.

Duc Minh Hoang, 18, was taken into custody along with a 14-year-old companion. Hoang has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Two other suspects, 15- and 17-year-old boys, are still at large, Baxter said.

The couple had planned to spend most of their free time during the past month buying clothes, furniture and other things for their baby, expected to arrive Dec. 14. Instead, Vincent Chirafisi lies in a hospital bed with Anna at his side morning to night.

“That’s what hurts the most,” she said of the lack of money for the baby. “We had planned to have real nice stuff, first baby and everything. Vince wanted to move before this happened, but I told him I couldn’t take a move. I couldn’t pack things with my big belly. I guess we should have moved, though.”

The couple plans to apply for welfare after the baby arrives, said Judith Rowland, the victim’s advocate in legal matters and co-founder of the California Center on Victimology. Medicaid will cover most of the expenses of Vincent’s hospital bills and Anna’s pregnancy, but, until then, the couple will have to get by with the $88.

Before the stabbing, Vincent worked as a mechanic at a Target automotive center during the day and, after a one-hour break to eat and visit his wife, he would work part-time as an attendant at the Gas Depot, both in San Diego. He worked seven days a week, Anna said, adding that both employers have offered Vincent his jobs back, but that she doesn’t know whether his injuries will allow him to return after his indefinite hospital stay.

The Center on Victimology is accepting donations for the Chirafisis at its office at 2404 Broadway. The phone number is 235-4459.