The woman charged with attempting to kill another shopper inside a bathroom at Macy’s Herald Square was arraigned Friday in Manhattan Criminal Court, where prosecutors outlined a history of psychiatric hospitalizations and a prior out-of-state arrest.
Kerri Aherne — a 43-year-old resident of Tewksbury, Massachusetts — faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder in the second degree, stemming from a stabbing at the store on Thursday afternoon, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
At the arraignment, prosecutors said Aherne had been released from Manhattan Psychiatric Center the morning of the attack, where she had been hospitalized for more than a year. They said she then bought a knife at the flagship Macy’s store.
The circumstances of her release were not immediately clear.
Prosecutors said she told investigators she was hearing voices instructing her to kill or be killed. She then entered a bathroom and stabbed a mother who was changing her baby’s diaper, officials said.
During the assault, the 10-month-old fell from the changing table to the ground, causing injuries, including swelling to the forehead, authorities said.
According to the district attorney’s office, the victim was stabbed twice in the back and needed stitches. She also suffered a cut to her left arm. Aherne faces five charges, including the violent felony of attempted murder in the second degree.
Prosecutors said she has no criminal history in New York, but was arrested in her hometown of Massachusetts in 2018 after allegedly posting threats on Facebook about killing U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and obtaining a gun and shooting someone at a local police station.
Aherne’s attorney was not immediately available for comment. She is being held at Rikers Island without bail and is due back in court on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
