A New York woman who worked as a home health aide for an elderly patient has been charged with attempted murder.
Amanda Fraser, 23, was arrested in October after reportedly stabbing Wendy Wilson, the 84-year-old lady she was supposed to care for as an overnight home health aide. According to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, Fraser was captured on video cameras at Wilson’s home in Massapequa, New York, at 2:08 a.m. on Oct. 29, entering Wilson’s bedroom while she was sleeping. Fraser then allegedly thrust a chef’s knife with an 8-inch blade into Wilson’s torso and “repeatedly whispered for the woman to succumb.”
According to Donnelly, Fraser then left the older woman bleeding in her bed until the next home health worker came.
Donnelly claims Fraser “held the knife firm” in Wilson’s torso for “an excruciating 16 minutes.” Wilson awoke in pain, moaning, and attempted to remove the knife. Fraser reportedly “maintained her grip on the knife handle” while saying at Wilson to “just let go” and “stop fighting it.”
According to CCTV footage, Fraser reportedly removed the knife from Wilson’s home around 2:28 a.m. and left. Local ABC affiliate WABC spoke with Wilson’s son, Kery Kilgannon, who told the station that cameras outside the residence purportedly showed Fraser attempting to smash the house with her Dodge Charger before fleeing on foot. The day after the stabbing, CBS affiliate WCBS reported that Fraser’s car was still parked on Wilson’s front lawn.
Wilson’s family informed WABC that their mother was discovered the following morning by the home health aide who worked the morning shift. Police arrived at the home at 8:30 a.m. and transported Wilson to the hospital. Donnelly claimed she was treated for a perforated lung that later became septic. Wilson was hospitalized until recently. She turned 85 while in the hospital.
According to a news release from the Nassau County Police Department, Fraser was arrested in Queens on October 29. According to WCBS, she was transported to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation prior to her November 3 arraignment. The station also spoke with an employee from Aides at Home, the agency that employed Fraser. A management there told WCBS that the inquiry is still ongoing. We are totally cooperating.
Fraser was charged with attempted second-degree murder, two charges of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, endangering the welfare of a vulnerable old person, and endangering the welfare of a mentally or physically challenged person. She remains in detention at the Nassau County Correctional Center and is expected to appear in court again on December 9.
