OAK PARK : Closing Arguments End in Slaying Case

Jurors listened to closing arguments Thursday in the case of a 21-year-old man charged in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old youth during a disturbance outside an Oak Park condominium.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Carol Nelson argued that Philip Holsborg was guilty of murder when he stabbed Craig Hastings on Sept. 6 with a dagger mounted on a set of brass knuckles.

Hastings, who would have entered his junior year at Oak Park High School near Agoura Hills last fall, was struck in the groin and died two days later.

Holsborg’s attorney, Todd Howeth, said the stabbing was accidental. He contended that Hastings had struck Holsborg first and fell into the knife. The stab wound was only an inch deep, but it struck an important vein.

At the time of the incident Holsborg was living at the condominium complex on North Oak Hills Drive near Avenue Soledad. He got into an argument with a group of teen-agers talking loudly below his residence.

Holsborg threw bottles and pennies at them, Nelson said, and the dispute escalated. Holsborg first came after the group with a baseball bat, then went inside and came out with the knife, she said.

As the defendant was arguing with one of the youths, Hastings interceded with his arms in the air and asked, “What’s the matter with you, man?” Nelson said. She contended that Hastings had not struck Holsborg first, and that Holsborg intended to stab the youth.

Holding up the knife, Nelson called it the “Saturday night special of knives.” She said, “It’s a Rambo thing, a road-warrior thing.”

Jurors began deliberations late Thursday and will continue today. Holsborg is charged with murder, but less serious charges of manslaughter will be considered by the jury.