A homeless woman from Massachusetts, recently charged with stabbing another woman inside a Macy’s bathroom in New York City, has a documented history of mental health issues. Just hours before the incident, she was reportedly discharged from a psychiatric facility and later confessed that voices in her head compelled her to “kill someone” or face being killed herself.
The suspect, Kerri Aherne, 43, allegedly attacked a woman from California on Thursday. The victim, who was changing her baby at the time of the assault in Macy’s Herald Square, sustained a stab wound to her back.
Identified only by her role with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the injured woman was swiftly taken to Bellevue Hospital and released the following day.
Aherne now faces charges of attempted murder, two counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child for what authorities have labeled an unprovoked assault. She is currently detained without bail.
According to court documents, Aherne, who was last known to reside in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has a lengthy history of battling mental illness.
Court records show Aherne, whose last known address was in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has a long history of struggling with mental illness.
Prosecutors said in a criminal complaint that Aherne told police she had been discharged from Manhattan Psychiatric Center the morning of Thursday’s stabbing after a yearlong stay.
She also allegedly said she purchased a knife at Macy’s and looked for someone to kill because “voices in her head told her she had to kill someone, or she would be killed.”
In 2019, records show she was deemed an incapacitated person, and her mother and sister were appointed as her guardians, according to the New York Post.
Aherne was placed on a court-ordered treatment plan to ensure she continues taking Prolixin, an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia, the records show.
Kerri Aherne has a long history of struggling with mental illness, according to authorities. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)
Her Facebook has been inactive since 2018. In one of her last posts, she wrote, “Going a little insane,” along with a still from a Michael Jackson video.
Aherne was arraigned on Friday, when her attorney told the court he plans to request bail at a future hearing.
When the judge said she would be held without bail until her next court appearance, Aherne interrupted and begged not to be sent to another mental health facility, the New York Post reported.
Kerri Aherne said she purchased a knife and looked for someone to kill because “voices in her head told her she had to kill someone, or she would be killed.” (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
“I don’t want to go to another hospital,” Aherne said. “They didn’t help me at Manhattan Psychiatric Center.”
She is due back in court on Dec. 17.
