An attorney for the man accused of committing an anti-Semitic attack with a machete wants the body of the victim who later died to be exhumed.
Attorney Michael Sussman wants the body of Josef Neumann exhumed for an autopsy, The Journal News reported.
Neumann was one of five people injured in the attack on a rabbi’s home in Monsey, New York, on Dec. 28.
“We need to know medically if it’s a murder or if it’s the consequence of some disease pattern or something else,” Sussman said in an interview Tuesday.
Grafton Thomas has been indicted on federal hate crime charges and state charges including attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty.
Sussman has argued that his client was not motivated by anti-Semitism and is mentally ill.
Prosecutors said they would seek a murder charge in Neumann’s death but it has not yet been filed, according to Journal News.
(AP)
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2 Responses
The news read:”The 18-inch machete allegedly used by 37-year-old Thomas “penetrated [Neumann’s] skull directly into the brain” his family said in a statement at the time.
And, in fact, he did show signs of improvement for a while, even though doctors said that if he did survive he would have significant brain damage.”
No need to exhume.
If they didn’t preserve enough evidence to show he died as a direct cause of the attack, rather than some other factor, they won’t be able to prosecute him for murder. If I shoot you, and while recovering you die of Covid 19, under American law I’m only liable for assault and/or attempted murder.