A 50-year-old Holon woman was indicted Sunday on charges of aggravated assault after prosecutors said she fled a psychiatric hospital, bought a knife and stabbed a woman she believed had placed a curse on her.
According to the indictment, filed in Tel Aviv District Court, the woman escaped Abarbanel Psychiatric Hospital, where she had been hospitalized under court order. Prosecutors said she changed into civilian clothes to mislead hospital guards, took a taxi to Holon, bought a sharp-bladed knife, hid it in two bags and waited for the victim outside her home for about an hour.
When the victim arrived, the defendant allegedly came up behind her, punched her and stabbed her in the back of the neck and abdomen. Prosecutors said the victim tried to fight her off and shouted for help, but the defendant continued trying to stab her until police arrived and pulled her away.
The victim suffered wounds and bruises, including a cut to the back of her neck.
Police said the defendant admitted to the main allegations and described the planning. She told investigators she intended to stab the woman to “remove the curse,” saying she wanted to drive the knife “deep into her body” but did not intend to kill her.
Prosecutors said it was not the first attack on the same woman. In 2022, the defendant allegedly struck her in the head with an ax, also because of the same belief in a curse.
The hospital’s security officer told police that patients are not allowed to leave while wearing hospital clothing, but people in civilian clothes are not checked when leaving. The defendant had previously escaped from the hospital, prosecutors said.
She was charged with aggravated assault, escape from lawful custody and unlawful possession of a knife. Prosecutors asked that she be held until the end of proceedings, citing the alleged planning, the use of a weapon, the repeated targeting of the same woman and the risk that she could flee again.