New York Synagogue Attack: Suspect Grafton Thomas Ruled Not Competent To Stand Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The suspect in the deadly stabbing during a Chanukah celebration in Monsey has been ruled not mentally competent to stand trial.
The ruling follows the position defense attorney Michael Sussman previously made when a psychiatrist concluded that 37-year-old Grafton Thomas was not competent.
Thomas has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges in the Dec. 28, 2019, stabbing that left five people injured at a rabbi's home.
Josef Neumann, a father of seven and most seriously injured, was 72 years old. He initially survived the synagogue attack but later died from complications caused by COVID-19 coronavirus-related illness. He was laid to rest this afternoon, a sad event which like so many others, was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thomas also faces federal hate crime charges.
"I have stated from the very outset that, based upon my investigation, this was not an act of domestic terrorism," said Sussman. "While others were making that claim and inflaming the public, I stated that Mr. Thomas had a long well-documented history of mental illness and that, tragically, this motivated his conduct in late December."