Monsey Hanukkah Attack Suspect Incompetent To Stand Trial, Psychiatrist Says

A psychiatrist hired by to evaluate Grafton Thomas, the man charged in a machete attack at a rabbi's house, has found he is incompetent to stand trial, his defense attorney said.

Kathy Reakes

01/28/2020 4:15 p.m.

In a statement on Monday, Jan. 27, his attorney Michael Sussman said that Dr. Andrew Levin found that "Mr. Thomas was not competent to stand trial."

Thomas, of Greenwood Lake in Orange County, is charged with federal hate crimes for the Dec. 28 attack on attendees of a Hanukkah party at the rabbi's Monsey home that left a 72-year-old man in a coma.

Earlier Story: Monsey Stabbing Suspect Interviewed By Police For Earlier Attack

Sussman said that he has asked a federal judge to hold a competency evaluation. He said the U.S. Attorney has two weeks to reply to the application.

Thomas' mother and Sussman have said that going without his medication to treat his mental illness is what triggered the attack and that he was not a violent person.

Sussman has asked the doctor's report to be sealed.

Thomas is being held in federal custody without bail

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