Man dies from injuries suffered in Monsey Hanukkah stabbing attack

Josef Neumann suffered from a broken skull and shattered arm in the machete attack at Rabbi Rottenberg’s Shul in Monsey back in December.

News 12 Staff

Mar 30, 2020, 9:43 AM

Updated 1,486 days ago

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The man who was most seriously injured in the Hanukkah stabbing in Monsey died Sunday evening. 
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a small fraction of Josef Neumann's family members were able to say goodbye.

The 72-year-old died in a Rockland nursing home Sunday night three months after he was attacked inside a rabbi's home on Forshay Road while celebrating the final night of Hanukkah.
 
Neumann had been on life support, and at one point emerged from a coma in February.

The alleged attacker, Orange County man Grafton Thomas, has been indicted on federal and state charges. His family says he suffers from a mental illness.
The DA's office tells News 12 that it is now planning on upping the charge for Thomas to second-degree murder when the grand jury is able to reconvene. 
Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed his sorrow and announced the renaming of legislation in his honor to the Josef Neumann Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Act.

If passed, it would define hate-fueled murder with the intent to cause mass casualties as an act of domestic terrorism, thus making the punishment equal to other terroristic acts.

Neumann leaves behind a large loving family.
 
 


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