Neighbors shocked as Bronx woman stabs granddaughter, 7, she 'adored and worshipped' a dozen times

The girl's four-year-old sister was also present at the scene but was not harmed

PUBLISHED FEB 23, 2023

BRONX, NEW YORK CITY: A 65-year-old grandmother, identified as Maritza Yauger, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and attempted manslaughter after allegedly stabbing her seven-year-old granddaughter. Yauger stabbed her granddaughter more than dozen times leaving her with deep cuts to her trachea and left chest. As per the cops, the girl is now in a stable condition and is expected to survive.

According to Daily News, the stabbing took place on Tuesday morning, February 21, at Yauger's home at 1317 Clinton Ave near E 169th St in Morrisania about 8.15 am. Yauger's son found his niece, who was visiting her grandmother at the time of the attack and stays with her parents in New Jersey, bleeding on a bed, reports News 12 The Bronx. Following this, he called the police, who responded to the scene and rushed the girl to Lincoln Hospital.

Who is Edna Faye Daniels? South Carolina woman, 78, accused of helping grandson cover up murder

Police added, the girl's four-year-old sister was also present at the scene but was not harmed, reports Daily News. The knife the suspect allegedly used to stab her granddaughter was recovered.

'She adored that girl'

However, friends and neighbors are confused what led to this attack. Eva Devers, 66, friend of Yauger’s, said, as per New York Post, "She adored that girl. I said, ‘it can’t be!' She loved that girl. She loved her very much.” Maria Castillo, a hairdresser, said Yauger brought her granddaughter to the salon to get her pampered. "She worshipped her granddaughter. When she brings the granddaughter I said, ‘Why you give her everything?’ She says, ‘I have two sons. I have no daughter. I loved my granddaughter. I give her everything,'” Castillo recollected as she spoke about Yauger.

While a store worker Victor Ramirez explained, "When her mom died she got, you know, like, different. Since then she wasn’t the same person. She was depressed, sad.” Adding to this, Castillo said, she "became more quiet and looked different. She would laugh more before. When her mother passed away she changed.”

Details about Maritza Yauger

Yauger was charged following a psychological evaluation at St Barnabas Hospital, as per NY1. She remains hospitalized and is facing charges of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. The is no history of Administration for Child Services being involved with the family, and police are still searching for the cause that made the 65-year-old woman to stab her granddaughter.