Fifteen days after a Town of Sweden woman allegedly stabbed and decapitated her 7-year-old son, she has been indicted by a Monroe County grand jury.
Hanane Mouhib, 36, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with brutal slaying of her son Abraham Cardenas, a first-grader at Brockport's Barclay Elementary School, on April 5.
Mouhib is accused of fatally stabbing Abraham with a large kitchen knife inside one room of the family's Lake Road home while her husband, another son and her mother-in-law were in an adjacent room.
Three successive 911 calls were made from Mouhib's home about 8:20 p.m. on April 5, two reporting a suicidal female armed with a knife and a third alerting police that someone had been injured. When deputies arrived, they struggled to subdue Mouhib, ultimately using pepper spray and a stun gun before taking her into custody.
Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter said deputies had been called to the location twice last month when Mouhib had called 911 seeking assistance.
On March 5, Baxter said it appeared that she recognized she was having mental health issues and called for help. Deputies took her to an area hospital.
Three days later, she again called 911 telling dispatchers that she did not feel right. Because of the record of the March 5 encounter, Mouhib was taken to Rochester General Hospital, where she received treatment from March 8 to 26.
The state Department of Health and Office of Mental Health confirmed this week that they are investigating Mouhib's treatment and care at the hospital. Hospital officials declined to comment.
Also last week, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo ordered a review of any potential involvement the county's Child Protective Services may have had regarding the Cardenas/Mouhib household. By state law, officials could not confirm or deny whether there were any CPS investigations ongoing, but Commissioner of Human Services Corinda Crossdale did say there were no reports filed with her agency regarding Mouhib behaving violently toward her children.
It is unclear whether the Mouhib case had any bearing on a state Office of Children and Family Services order on Monday that Monroe County shut down a CPS diversion program called Family Assessment Response that aims to provide additional services and support to families in crisis, rather than have them undergo a full CPS investigation. County workers were also ordered by the state to immediately review all open FAR cases.
Still, there were no warning signs or indicators that preceded the fatal stabbing, Baxter said. What happened that night appeared to be "an isolated incident" inside the house and there was no sign of a fight or altercation.
School officials were also shocked by the events, saying that Abraham's death took Brockport faculty "completely off guard." Counselors were on hand at the school for the past week. His older brother is a fourth-grader within the district.
Mouhib is being held at the Monroe County Jail without bail.She is expected to be arraigned next week.
