Knife-Wielding Homeless Woman ‘Heard Voices Telling Her to Kill’ Before Brutal Stabbing of Tourist at Macy’s Herald Square
- Kerri Aherne, 43, was released from psychiatric hospital just hours before the attack, and bought the knife at Macy’s
- Prosecutors say she was driven by ‘voices in her head’ telling her to kill, and targeted a 38-year-old mother changing her baby
- Aherne has a history of mental illness and was deemed an ‘incapacitated person’ in 2019, with a court-ordered treatment plan
Kerri Aherne’s descent into madness ended in bloodshed when she brutally stabbed a tourist at Macy’s Herald Square in New York, just hours after being released from a psychiatric hospital. Prosecutors revealed that Aherne had been driven by ‘voices in her head’ telling her to kill, and had bought the knife she used at the iconic department store.
As she stood in Manhattan Criminal Court, wearing a tattered white jumper and a face mask, Aherne was arraigned on attempted murder, assault, child endangerment, and weapons possession charges. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Paul Barker told the court that Aherne had been living on the streets and had a history of mental illness, with a court-ordered treatment plan to keep her taking antipsychotic medication.
‘She had purchased a knife at Macy’s and looked for someone to kill because voices in her head told her that she had to kill someone or else she would be killed,’ Barker said. Aherne’s lawyer plans to seek bail at a future hearing, but the judge ordered her to be held without bail until her next court appearance.
Aherne interrupted the judge, pleading not to be sent to another mental health facility. ‘I don’t want to go to another hospital,’ she bemoaned. ‘They didn’t help me at Manhattan Psychiatric Center.’
Court records show that Aherne has long struggled with mental illness, and was deemed an ‘incapacitated person’ in 2019, with her mother and sister appointed as her guardians. Her social media posts reveal a disturbing pattern of incoherent rants and anti-Trump comments, with one post from 2018 stating ‘Going a little insane’.
The victim, a 38-year-old mother from California, was repeatedly stabbed in the back, shoulder, and arm, and her 10-month-old daughter fell from the table to the floor during the attack. Miraculously, the mother was discharged from hospital on Friday, with her husband telling The Post that ‘she is better’.
Aherne’s attack has sent shockwaves through the community, with many questioning how she was able to fall through the cracks of the mental health system. As she faces a lengthy prison sentence, Aherne’s case has raised urgent questions about the treatment of mentally ill individuals in the US.
Aherne is due back in court on December 17.