Teen-Ager to Be Tried as Adult in Attack on Woman : Reseda: Youth is accused of stabbing neighbor at least 20 times and then leaving her to die. But she will testify.

A judge ordered a Reseda teen-ager Friday to stand trial as an adult for attempted murder in an attack on a 74-year-old neighbor who was stabbed 20 times in her home.

San Fernando Valley Juvenile Court Judge Morton Rochman ruled that because of the sophistication and the gravity of the assault, Eric Andrew Servin, 18, should face criminal proceedings as an adult.

Servin, who was 17 at the time of the Dec. 29 robbery and beating of Edith Aline Rose in her Reseda home, is expected to be arraigned Tuesday in Van Nuys Municipal Court on charges of attempted premeditated murder, residential burglary and residential robbery. If convicted, he faces life in prison, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Bernadette de Barajas.

Had he remained in juvenile court, the maximum sentence he would have faced was incarceration in a juvenile facility until his 25th birthday.

Surprisingly, Servin’s attorney, Ira M. Salzman, did not argue against his client being dealt with as an adult. Outside the courtroom, Salzman said he didn’t have enough evidence to keep the matter in juvenile court.

“In this case, we did as well as we could,” he said.

De Barajas said that because of the heinousness of the attack, adult court is the appropriate place to deal with the matter.

“He taunted her, imploring her to die,” De Barajas said. “He dragged her around. He dehumanized her as a human being.”

Rose’s niece, Barbara Hogan, said her aunt was “doing well,” but would not elaborate. When asked what she would like to see happen to Servin, Hogan said, “Give him whatever is appropriate for what he has done.”

Servin was arrested within hours of the attack at his job at a fast-food restaurant. He led police to a dumpster where they found Rose’s credit cards, authorities said.

According to police, Servin knocked on Rose’s door on Dec. 29 and asked for a glass of water and the use of the telephone. She apparently recognized him as a neighborhood boy who regularly rode his bicycle past her Strathern Street home while she tended her garden.

But after entering her home, Servin allegedly pulled out a gun and demanded money. When she refused, he began chasing her around the house, punching her and at one point stomping on her chest.

Servin allegedly stabbed Rose at least 20 times with a knife in the neck, hands and torso. Rose was then handcuffed to a drainpipe in the kitchen and left to die. The attacker left with less than $10, police said.

Rose was found hours later by a neighbor. She did not know her attacker’s name, but described him to police. Rose survived her injuries, and will be available to testify against Servin, De Barajas said.

Salzman said Servin has a “long history” of psychological problems, but would not discuss what role those problems will play in his defense.

Although Servin now faces charges as an adult, Rochman allowed him to be held in custody in a juvenile facility rather than in county jail, over the objections of the prosecutor.