Man who stabbed, cut Redwood City girl 100 times denied parole

(KRON) — A Bay Area child sex offender who served nearly three decades behind bars refused to attend his own parole hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors said.

Eric Umali is serving a 16 years-to-life sentence for attempting to murder a young girl in a Redwood City apartment complex on July 19, 1996. Umali and the 9-year-old girl were neighbors, and prosecutors described the vicious stabbing as “inexplicable.”

Umali, 54, was denied parole Tuesday morning for at least five more years by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Board of Parole Hearings. The board made its decision while Umali remained in his prison cell.

“The Board found the prisoner remains an unreasonable risk of danger to the community if released and denied him a parole date,” the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office wrote.

At the time of the Redwood City knife attack, Umali was a 26-year-old convicted child sex offender. He cut and stabbed the 9-year-old girl 100 times, according to reports.

The young victim incredibly survived and later testified at Umali’s 1997 trial.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge John Schwartz found the defendant guilty of attempted murder with premeditation, and felony battery on a child.

Umali’s next parole hearing will be held in 2028.

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