John Jefferson
Left: Mabel Campechano (Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office). Right: the victim, identified as Amber, in a family photo aired on the local news (WABC).
Weeks after an aunt was suspected of stabbing her 4-year-old niece “multiple times” while babysitting her at a New Jersey home, stunning the victim’s father, prosecutors have filed charges for attempted murder and more.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office has said that Paterson cops went to a home near East 24th Street and 10th Avenue on the afternoon of Aug. 23 in response to the report that the 4-year-old girl was stabbed. Authorities said the girl was, in fact, stabbed “multiple times” and was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital.
In an on-camera interview with local ABC affiliate WABC, the girl’s father Faherem LaSane said he was “dumbfounded” and “shocked” by the attack. He identified his daughter as Amber and said that the stabbing left her with a punctured lung and liver. The father recalled the “joy” he felt upon seeing his daughter open her eyes at the hospital after she “heard my voice she started making eye contact trying to see me.”
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According to the report, one witness to the aftermath of the stabbing said the girl also had a “big gash on her forehead” as the victim’s mother carried her out of the house that day.
Meanwhile, Campechano was nowhere to be immediately found and was only arrested on Monday, one month later, prosecutors said.
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Authorities have not yet explained what led to the violence other than to say there was a dispute, but it seems there may have been some warning signs about the defendant’s mental state. WABC said people in the neighborhood recognized Campechano as someone who would talk to herself as she paced around outside.
As things stand, the defendant is charged with several crimes, the most serious of which is first-degree attempted murder. Campechano additionally faces a weapon possession charge and a child endangerment count.
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