Suspect Accused Of Stabbing Tourist At Macy's Herald Square Pleads Not Guilty

NEW YORK CITY — A woman accused of stabbing a tourist multiple times inside Macy's Herald Square in December pleaded not guilty to charges on Wednesday.

Kerri Aherne, 43, has been charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.

The suspect is accused of stabbing a 38-year-old tourist, who was visiting from California, while she was changing her 10-month-old daughter's diaper in a seventh-floor bathroom on Dec. 11.

The mother was able to fend off Aherne with the help of her husband. The baby was not harmed in the incident.

"As alleged, Kerri Aherne carried out a horrific and unprovoked stabbing of a mother who was simply caring for her 10-month-old baby. This tourist was attacked inside one of the city's largest and most frequented department stores, posing public safety implications for employees, visitors, and New Yorkers alike. I wish the victim a swift recovery," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

The mother and father both work for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The 38-year-old woman suffered stab wounds to the back and arm, police said. During the attack, the baby fell from the changing table onto the floor, prosecutors said. Aherne was restrained by the child's father and store security workers until police arrived at the scene.

Aherne was apparently discharged from a Manhattan psychiatric ward the morning of the stabbing. She had been at the facility for over a year.

The suspect told police that voices in her head told her to "kill someone, or she would be killed." She then purchased a knife at Macy's and went looking for someone to kill.

Aherne is due back in court on February 11.