Woman, 74, Stabbed 20 Times in Home : Crime: A 17-year-old neighbor is arrested in the assault and apparent robbery. The victim, who was found handcuffed in her kitchen, is in critical condition.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested Thursday in the attack and apparent robbery of an elderly woman who was stabbed 20 times with a butcher knife and handcuffed to a drain pipe in the kitchen of her Reseda home, police said.

Edith Aline Rose, 74, was able to whisper the name of her assailant to officers before she underwent surgery for stab wounds in her hands, neck and torso, said Detective Rick Swanston of the Los Angeles Police Department. Rose was listed in critical condition at a hospital Thursday night.

After hearing his name from Rose, police arrested the teen-ager on suspicion of attempted murder, Swanston said. The boy was taken into custody at a Reseda fast-food restaurant where he worked.

“We believe she knew the youth,” Swanston said. “They were neighbors.”

Rose has lived alone in a home in the 18200 block of Strathern Street since her husband died several years ago, residents said.

Her alleged assailant lived about a block away in the 8000 block of Wynne Avenue, police said.

Investigators estimate that the stabbing occurred early Thursday afternoon. Shortly before 3 p.m., a neighbor, concerned because he had not seen Rose all day, climbed through an unlocked window and found her semiconscious and bleeding. A butcher knife was recovered at the scene.

Neighborhood residents were shocked by the attack.

“She is a sweetheart of a gal,” said Rick Kahana, 37, another neighbor and friend. “I can’t imagine anybody would want to hurt her.”

Anthony Federico, who has lived next door to Rose for 32 years, said the woman lived a quiet life and worked as a caretaker at the church across the street from her home.

“I don’t think she has an enemy in the whole world,” said Federico, 69, a retired restaurateur.