Chanukah Machete Attacker to Remain in Psychiatric Facility for Two More Years

by Mindy Cohn

Grafton Thomas, the Chanukah Machete attacker, will remain in a psychiatric facility for two more years after a federal judge granted an application to extend Thomas's treatment at the MidHudson Psychiatric Center until January 2026

The 41-year-old, who faces federal and state charges, is guilty of brutally stabbing five people with a machete at a Monsey Chanukah celebration in 2019. The most critically injured victim, Josef Neumann, a"h, 72, died three months after the attack. Thomas, who is consistently being found mentally unfit to stand trial, pleaded not guilty to the charges, adjourning his case until December 2024, as reported previously by Rockland Daily here.

While last month, a county court judge signed an order of retention, keeping him in the psychiatric facility for two more years, this week, a federal judge also granted an application to extend Thomas's treatment at the MidHudson Psychiatric Center until January 2026

Thomas has pleaded not guilty to the charges.