Services Scheduled for Teenage Burn Victim

Michael Halsell, the Newbury Park teen who died Monday after a two-week battle against electrical burns, will be laid to rest today following a memorial Mass at St. Julie Billiart Church.

The memorial service will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the church on Borchard Road. Msgr. Michael Bunny will say the Mass, which is open to the public.

After the service, Michael will be buried at the Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks cemetery in Westlake Village, Bunny said.

Michael, 17, died two weeks after he had been hit by a bolt of electricity while preparing to rappel off an Edison tower along the Conejo Grade.

The accident, which doctors said would have killed most people instantly, left him with third-degree burns over 85% of his body.

Following the accident, Michael’s friends and classmates rallied around him and his family, organizing a blood drive and a series of fund-raisers to help pay Michael’s medical bills. Two benefit performances of a school play netted a total of $500, according to the Newbury Park High School staff.

And a benefit martial arts demonstration by Bill Poett’s Martial Arts America brought the family about $2,000, owner Bill Poett said.

“It was a great night,” he said. “I’m sorry for the reasons it had to happen, but it was a great night.”

Michael’s older brother, Chris, teaches at the martial arts academy and performed in Saturday’s fund-raiser.

A memorial fund has also been established at Los Robles Bank, with more than $2,000 already collected, said Mary Guy, vice president and manager of the bank’s Westlake branch.

“The deposits just started pouring in,” she said. “It’s been wonderful.”

For information about the fund, call 373-7133.