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Grafton Thomas, age 35, of Orange County, is charged in Rockland County with the Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019 killing of Josef Neumann, age 72, after allegedly stabbing five people at the Hasidic rabbi’s Forshay Road, Monsey home during a Hanukkah celebration.
Thomas, whose family said he had a long history of severe mental illness and suffered from schizophrenia, also faces six counts of attempted murder and assault associated with the incident.
Rockland County Judge Kevin Russo signed an "order of retention" on Wednesday, Jan. 17, which returns Thomas to the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center in New Hampton, a hamlet of the town of Wawayanda in Orange County, said an order of retention provided by the Rockland County District Attorney's Office.
He was first determined unfit to stand trial in January 2022 after doctors found him incompetent.
"The Rockland County District Attorney's Office is committed to getting justice on behalf of Josef Nuemnann, and the others injured during this horrific attack," said Scott Waters, public information officer for the DA's Office. "When the defendant is ruled competent, the Office will proceed with prosecution."
Thomas will return to court in another two years for a competency hearing, officials said.
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