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Long-Lost Piece of Evidence Recovered in Berkeley Beating

A crucial piece of the puzzle in a brutal Berkeley attempted murder trial will soon be entered into evidence. Back in October of 2006, then-19-year-old Hamed Mirabel was robbed and repeatedly stabbed by two assailants in the Berkeley hills. He survived the attack, but he is now permanently disabled.

Berkeley Police Sgt. Mary Kussmiss says they were able to track down two suspects in the case, and both are now on trial for the vicious attack.

Just a few months ago, as the trial was about to begin, Mirabel's mother received Hamed's long-missing wallet in the mail. It was sent by an anonymous person who wrote that she found it while gardening in her front yard in Berkeley and thought that returning it was the right thing to do.

"This woman, who is a community member and homeowner on San Lorenzo Street where the wallet was found, shared with the detectives that she was surprised it was connected to such a brutal crime, and was relieved that it could be used now in the ongoing trial," said Kussmiss.

Kussmiss says this is a key piece of evidence, but because they couldn't establish so-called "chain of custody" they couldn't use the wallet in the case. An all-out blitz was launched to find the woman who sent the wallet. Kussmiss says just this week, they received the call they've been waiting for, the woman who mailed in the wallet.

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