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A homeless Massachusetts woman is accused of stabbing another woman in a Macy's bathroom. New York had previously suffered from mental illness, had been released from a mental hospital hours before the attack, and claimed that voices in her head told her she “had to kill someone” or be killed.
Kerry Ahern, 43, stabbed a California woman in the back Thursday as she swaddled her baby in the bathtub at the iconic Macy's Herald Square.
The victim, identified only by her employment with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and released Friday.
Ahern was charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with what police called an unprovoked attack. She is being held without bail.
Kerry Ahern was charged with attempted murder, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the stabbing at Macy's in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
Court records show Ahern, whose last known address was in Tewksbury, Massachusettshas a long history of battling mental illness.
In the criminal complaint, prosecutors said Ahern told police she was released from the Manhattan Psychiatric Center on Thursday morning after a year-long stay there.
She also allegedly said she bought a knife at Macy's and was looking for someone to kill because “the voices in her head were telling her she had to kill someone or she would get killed.”
She was declared legally incompetent in 2019 and her mother and sister were appointed as her guardians, according to the New York Post.
The court placed Ahern on a treatment plan ensuring she would continue to take Prolixin, an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, records show.
Kerry Ahern has a long history of struggling with mental illness, according to authorities. (Kena Bettencourt/AFP via Getty Images)
Her Facebook has been inactive since 2018. In one of her latest posts, she wrote: “Going a little crazy,” along with a still from a Michael Jackson video.
Ahern was arraigned Friday when her lawyer told the court he planned to seek bail at a future hearing.
When the judge said she would be held without bail until her next court appearance, Ahern interrupted her and asked her not to be sent elsewhere. psychiatric institution, The New York Post reported this.
Kerry Ahern said she bought the knife and was looking for someone to kill because “the voices in her head were telling her she had to kill someone or she would be killed.” (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
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“I don’t want to go to another hospital,” Ahern said. “They didn’t help me at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center.”
She is due back in court on December 17.
