Memorial service planned today for woman whose son survived attack

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005 | 8:42 a.m.

A memorial service for Teresa Tilden, the mother of a 12-year-old boy who survived a knife attack during which she was killed, will be 7 p.m. today at Central Christian Church in Henderson.

Shiloh Edsitty, who survived the Nov. 8 attack at a Las Vegas apartment complex, is living in upstate New York with the family of a woman who was a former teacher of his mother. His guardian, Vivian Powell, said she and Shiloh decided to hold the ceremony to give Las Vegans a chance to say goodbye and provide moral support for the family.

A Clark County Family Court judge was to decide earlier today whether to grant permanent custody of Edsitty to Powell, a college professor, and her husband.

Powell and Edsitty said that if prosecutors ask him to, he will again return to Las Vegas to testify against the man he says killed his mother and stabbed him six times with a 10-inch butcher knife that was left protruding from his chest.

In addition to the near-fatal chest wound, Edsitty was treated for a severed liver, a severed carotid artery and a punctured intestine. He also had to have his gallbladder removed due to his injuries.

James Menor Valdez, 29, is charged with murder, attempt murder and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack. He is being held in the Clark County Detention Center pending his trial.