A woman who was baby-sitting her two nieces stabbed them repeatedly with kitchen knives, then called 911 from the upscale home across the street from Martha Stewart's estate, police said Monday.
The 7- and 9-year-old girls survived the Saturday night attack and Sunday surgery and were in stable condition and improving on Monday, police said.
Bedford police Lt. Jeffrey Dickan described the scene as "quite horrible."
Less than a week after the stabbing of two girls in a Katonah home, Lisa Turkki appeared in Bedford Town Court Aug. 5 charged with felony assault.
Turkki is accused of attacking her two young nieces with kitchen knives on Saturday evening and then waiting outside their home after reporting the incident to the police. Since then, Turkki has been at Westchester County Jail where she has been held without bail.
Turkki was escorted into the court house from a Westchester County Correction vehicle at 7 p.m., shackled in chains and wearing a dark blue prison uniform and lace-less slippers. With the case catching the attention of national media spotlight, Turkki walked with her head down, ignoring the cameras on her way into the building. No one from the family made an appearance at the hearing.
Inside the court, Bedford Town Justice Erik Jacobsen observed over the hearing with the Child Abuse Bureau of the District Attorney's Office serving as prosecution. Turkki entered the room again looking down, accompanied by Jeanne Mettler, her defense lawyer who practices in Bedford Hills.
Throughout the hearing, Turkki could be seen fidgeting and twitching as they addressed the case.
Both sides agreed that they would reconvene at 9 a.m. Aug. 23, giving both sides enough time to investigate the case further. Judge Jacobsen also issued four orders of protection to the victims' immediate family, banning her from making any communication with them.
Before being sent back to jail, the judge clarified with Mettler that her client received adequate attention regarding medications at the correctional facility and that her lacerations from a minor leg injury were addressed.
"I think at this point, and I've only been on this case for two days, and in view of the nature of this case which is very serious and very sensitive, I think it would be wrong for me to make any further comment," said Mettler as she left the court room, waiting to watch her client be escorted out.
The aunt was babysitting the two girls, ages 7 and 9, at their home on Girdle Ridge Road while their parents were down the street at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts. Police found the girls conscious and talking when they arrived.
After Turkki was taken into custody, the girls were taken to the Weschester Medical Center and joined by their parents, who have spent this week with them in the hospital. A statement released yesterday from the parents, Joseph and Eva Kelly, said that the girls are improving after surgeries and hospital care from the Westchester Medical Center.
Turkki, 39, is a resident of Manlius, a town in Onondaga County outside of Syracuse, NY. According to published news reports, she attended Syracuse University where she received a bachelors decree in psychology and went on to complete a master's degree in counselor education.
Police have not commented on any statement given by Turkki or a motive for her actions.
KATONAH — The young sisters stabbed and slashed multiple times last weekend were watching television in the kitchen when their aunt took two knives and attacked them, a law enforcement source said today.
The source said Annabel, 9, and Maeve Kelly, 7, had done nothing to provoke Lisa Turkki, their mother's 39-year-old sister who was visiting from upstate and watching the girls Saturday night while the parents were at nearby Caramoor for a concert. Turkki then called 911, telling police there was a lot of blood and the girls needed help.
Both girls survived the onslaught and were expected to return to their Girdle Ridge Road home today after surgery and six days of treatment at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
Turkki, who lives in Manlius, just outside Syracuse, was standing in front of the house when police arrived and was arrested without incident. She was charged with two felony counts of first-degree assault and has been held without bail at the Westchester County jail.
Authorities have yet to reveal any possible motive in the attack or whether Turkki gave a reason when she spoke to police once in custody later that night.
She appeared briefly in Bedford Town Court last night. She could be seen trembling, and spoke only in hushed tones with her lawyer, Jeanne Mettler.
The lawyer said Turkki was receiving adequate medical care at the jail after the judge indicated the defendant was on medication. Town Justice Erik Jacobsen also asked whether a psychiatric examination was being requested for Turkki and was told no, not at this time.
Mettler declined to discuss the medication today, or whether her client suffered from any mental health problems. Turkki's neighbors said she lived alone and kept to herself.