Deerfield Twp. woman accused of stabbing 3-year-old child files suggestion of incompetency

Ed Richter, Journal-News, Hamilton, Ohio
·3 min read

Apr. 19—A Warren County woman accused of stabbing a three-year-boy last month filed a suggestion of incompetency late last week which led a Warren County Common Pleas Court judge to order a forensic evaluation of her during her arraignment hearing.

Xiaoyan Zhu, 46, of Deerfield Twp. appeared in court Monday on charges of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, in connection with the stabbing of a 3-year-old neighbor on March 4.

Judge Donald E. Oda II continued her bond at $1 million, cash, surety or 10%. He also placed conditions on Zhu if she was able to post bond that includes electronic monitoring, a no contact order with the alleged victim or family and a protection order.

Nicholas D. Graman, Zhu's attorney, was assisted by an interpreter during the hearing. Graman said Zhu spent a month in the psych ward at Good Samaritan Hospital and was diagnosed with depression with psychotic features. He told the court that Zhu was the mother of three children with deep ties to the community, a college graduate, and had no prior criminal record.

Graman said Zhu's doctor also outlined a treatment plan and said Zhu could deteriorate if she continued to be incarcerated. He said the doctor thought she was safe to live in the community with monitoring and requested a reduction in the bond amount. Graman said there was an alternate residence in West Chester where she could reside if released on bond.

Assistant Prosecutor Travis Vieux alleged that Zhu repeated stabbed the three-year-old boy nine times with a ceramic knife. He said three of the alleged knife stabs penetrated the boy's coat with two cutting into his back and one to his neck. Vieux said the boy is recovering but the knife tip remains in his body near his spine and is under evaluation by his doctors.

The incident was reported by Zhu's daughter during an online classroom session with her teacher, who then called 911.

The boy's mother said she heard screaming and saw her next door neighbor standing on her driveway and stabbing her son.

"I saw her with a knife standing above my child," she said.

The woman said her son was walking around and crying. His back was covered in blood, but she said his injuries looked more like scratches.

Around the same time the child's mother called, a Mason High School online student told her teacher that her mother was stabbing someone. The teacher immediately called 911.

Deputies responded between 8:30 and 9 a.m. March 4 to a home on Charleston Park Drive in Deerfield Twp. after the victim's mother and a teacher reported the stabbing. Deputies confirmed the boy had been stabbed with a ceramic knife by a neighbor. He was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

"Somebody's just stabbed my son," the boy's mother said in a frantic 911 call.

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