A Deerfield Township woman accused of stabbing her 3-year-old neighbor will go to a mental health care facility, not straight to trial, Judge Donald Oda II ruled Tuesday morning.
Xiaoyan Zhu, 46, stands charged with felonious assault and aggravated attempted murder in connection to the March 4 stabbing, which took place on her neighbor’s driveway.
According to a 911 call made by the victim’s mother, the 3-year-old boy had been standing in the driveway and playing with a Baby Yoda toy when Zhu attacked him with a ceramic or plastic knife. He was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Oda ruled Tuesday that Zhu is incompetent to stand trial because she "is incapable of understanding the nature and objective of the proceedings against her and is incapable of assisting in her own defense," according to the court entry accompanying his decision.
The same entry said the court hopes Zhu can be "restored to competency" with treatment from Summit Behavioral Healthcare.
Other witnesses included a child who watched the attack while attending Zoom class and told her teacher, Mindy Corradi, who called 911 with the voice of her crying student in the background.
“I’m very thankful that my student trusted me, and we were able to get help,” Corradi said at the time. “My heart is with both families, and I know our Comet Family is ready to support them."
