Attempted Murder Charge Added In Face-Slashing Of South Phila. Woman
By Paul Kurtz
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A South Philadelphia man accused of slashing a woman's face during a robbery last year was today ordered held for trial, and he now faces a more serious charge of attempted murder.
Assistant District Attorney Nadine Stephenson says she asked that the additional charge be added to the original charge of aggravated assault against 30-year-old Cory Harley (see previous story) because of the nature of the injuries to the victim, 23-year-old Ashley Hackett.
"This was a very serious attack in which the victim came at her with a knife and cut her from her ear over to the middle of her chin," Stephenson told KYW Newsradio. "Had he gone down even half an inch, he would have cut her carotid artery. He would have killed her."
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The robbery took place about 4 a.m. on November 11th, as Hackett (above) walked home along the 700 block of South Ninth Street. She testified that she was grabbed from behind, sliced by a very sharp knife, and thrown into a wall.
Harley has confessed to the attack, but maintains that he only tried to rob Hackett, not kill her -- an argument that prosecutor Stephenson calls "absurd."
