State Judge Rules Accused Monsey Stabber Unfit to Stand Trial

A state judge has found accused Monsey stabber Grafton Thomas incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness, and committed him to a mental institution.

Lohud legal reporter Steve Lieberman reports that Judge Kevin Russo on Wednesday found Thomas incompetent to stand trial due to mental illness and committed him to a mental institution for a year. Thomas’ attorney, Michael Sussman, told Lohud that while the law limits the judge’s order to a year for now, “I expect [Thomas will be here for much more than a year.”

“The proper situation for Mr. Thomas is a mental facility in New York State where he can get the care and treatment that he needs,” Sussman said.

Thomas is accused of bursting into the home of Harav Chaim Leibish Rottenberg in Monsey, on Dec. 28, 2019, during a Chanukah celebration, and stabbing people with a machete, wounding five people. One victim, Yehosef Neumann, 72, Hy”d, died three months after the attack. Officials say Thomas was a member of the Black Hebrew Israelites, a group that considers blacks to be the “true Jews,” and of which some members have espoused antisemitism.

Russo said Thomas will continue to be held in a Rockland County jail “pending designation of an appropriate institution.”

Thomas is also facing federal hate-crime charges, and a federal judge has previously found him unfit to stand trial.