Monsey stabbing victim, in coma since December attack, has died

Josef Neumann Image by Neumann family
- (JTA) — The most seriously injured victim of the stabbing attack at a rabbi’s home in Monsey in late December has died.
Josef Neumann, 72, died on Sunday afternoon. Though he remained in a coma from the time of the attack to his death, he had begun to open his eyes in February, leading to calls to keep praying for a full recovery.
The assailant’s knife penetrated Neumann’s skull and cut into his brain. His right arm also was shattered. Four other people were injured in the Dec. 28, 2019 attack.
The first announcement of his death came in a tweet from the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council.
Neumann had seven children, “many grandchildren,” a great-grandchild, and brothers and sisters.
The alleged stabber, Grafton Thomas, 37, has pleaded not guilty to 10 federal hate crimes charges along with six counts of attempted murder and several assault and burglary counts in Rockland County court.
If it is determined that Neumann died of his injuries, Thomas could face the death penalty.
The post Monsey stabbing victim, in coma since December attack, has died appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
