UPDATE: San Francisco DA Boudin Confirms Charges Against Suspect in Stabbing of Elderly Asian Woman
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) --– San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Friday announced the charges filed against suspect Daniel Cauich in the stabbing of a 94-year-old Chinese woman Wednesday morning.
The DA is filing charges of attempted murder, battery causing serious bodily injury and elder abuse. Cauich's arraignment is scheduled for Friday afternoon, the DA's Office said in a release.
"We are devastated by this recent, horrific attack. We stand with the AAPI community and the vulnerable elderly community which, around the nation, have faced too many tragic incidents like this one over the past year," Boudin said in a release. "We will continue to work tirelessly in prosecuting this case and also to develop new strategies and tools to prevent crime."
Cauich allegedly injured the victim -- 94-year-old 94-year old Ann "Peng" Taylor -- in an unprovoked attack the morning of June 16 as she was walking down the 800 block of Post Street. Authorities alleged that Cauich walked towards her with a knife in hand and repeatedly stabbed her before fleeing the scene and discarding the knife.
The victims suffered a stab wound on her forearm requiring sutures as well as additional lacerations to her hip and torso. She is also experiencing head pain and remains hospitalized. She is expected to recover.
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"I want to thank the medical team who has been working to treat the victim," Boudin said in the release. "I also commend the SFPD officers who quickly made an arrest."
The case has been at the center of a war of words between the San Francisco Police Officers Association and Boudin's office. The SFPOA has been highly critical of Boudin in the past year, criticizing his reforms and claiming that crimes are being committed by suspects who he did not prosecute.
On Thursday, the SFPOA tweeted questions about how Boudin had handled Cauich's past cases.
Cauich has been in and out of jail for years.
"We asked the court to detain him. It was our view and our written motion to the court that he should be detained and did not think he was safe to be released. We made that argument to the court," Boudin told KPIX Thursday.
But a judge granted Cauich's release anyway in connection to the most recent burglary charge against him in May 2021. He was released on an ankle monitor, which he was wearing at the time of the attack.
So far, the DA's office has secured three felony convictions against Cauich, who served 100 days in jail after pleading guilty to several felony 2nd degree burglary charges earlier this year.
North Beach resident Iryna Gorb has been collecting surveillance videos of burglaries since last year, before and after San Francisco police arrested Cauich in connection to multiple burglaries in her neighborhood last fall.
"He caught our attention and we looked at him and right away recognized him," said Gorb.
She says she spotted Cauich several times after his arrest.
The District Attorney's Office also noted that its Victim Services advocates reached out to the victim's family and were providing support and services for the victim and her family.
