A New Jersey woman was charged with attempted murder on Tuesday for stabbing of a 4-year-old girl last month in Paterson, the state attorney’s office announced.
The charges against Mabel Campechano, 27 — which also include endangering the welfare of a child and illegal gun possession — carry a combined potential state prison sentence of 20 to 36 years if convicted.
Family identified Campechano as the girl’s aunthowever authorities did not specify the relationship.
Officials from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office took Campechano into custody “without incident” on Monday, Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said in a statement. She is being held in Bergen county jail.
First responders who responded to a call from a residence around 4 p.m. Aug. 23 found the blood-covered tot in the arms of her mother, who burst out of the house crying hysterically and holding the little girl, witnesses said at the time. The 4-year-old was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center and was later listed in stable condition, although she required numerous surgeries. Paterson is about 20 miles west of New York City.
The girl’s father, Faherem LaSane, said his daughter suffered a punctured lung and liver, as well as damaged her diaphragm.
Campechano lived with the mother and daughter and was a babysitter for the little girlreported WPIX-TV.