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Mother charged in stabbing daugher said cult was stalking her
Mom Charged In Stabbing Said Cult Was Stalking Her
A mother was arrested late Wednesday night, for allegedly stabbing her 2-year-old daughter with a pair of scissors and then trying to strangle her. According to officials, the woman claimed a cult was stalking her.
[...]According to police, 38-year-old Susan Johnson stabbed the child in the torso, neck and head.
Security guard Douglas Wait was about to lock up the laundry room on the second floor when he saw the attack.
Wait grabbed the scissors out of the mother’s hands, police said.
The woman then allegedly grabbed a dryer cord and tried to strangle her daughter. “The woman had a power cord from the dryer wrapped around the little girl’s throat. The girl was full of blood… I thought she might already be dead,” said Real Belliveau, who helped save the little girl.
[...]The three witnesses were able to restrain the woman until officers arrived on the scene.
[...]Police say Johnson has some mental issues. “She has mentioned a couple of times in regards to a cult, and witchcraft and some mention about helicopters circling, so she definitely has some problems,” said Erickson.
Her defense attorney claims that Johnson said she was being stalked by a cult. In fear, she got on a bus and ended up inside the Heywood-Wakefield Place apartment building because it was big. She also claims she has no recollection of the attack.
[...]
Mother spoke of cult
Susan R. Johnson, 38, was arraigned today in Gardner District Court on charges of attempted murder, armed assault with intent to murder, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (scissors and an electrical cord), assault and battery on a child with injury and threatening to commit a crime (murder).
At the arraignment Judge Arthur Haley ordered her held for 20 days at Framingham State Prison while a complete evaluation is done to determine her competency to stand trial. The district attorney’s office has also requested that a dangerousness hearing be held to determine if Ms. Johnson should be held without bail. If the dangerousness hearing is not held, Judge Haley ordered that bail of $100,000 cash or $1 million with surety be imposed.
The child has been placed in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families.
[...]Lawyer Peter Binder, appointed to defend Ms. Johnson for her arraignment, said she has a history of depression and had not taken her medication recently. He said she traveled to Gardner on a bus yesterday morning, apparently because her family lives in the city. He said she was paranoid, said she was being stalked and kept mentioning that a cult was following her.
[...]
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