HAMDEN – Police arrested a suspect in connection with the stabbing attack on a pregnant woman New Year’s Day.
Police said around 3:30 a.m. they were called to Fairview Avenue for the report of a stabbing. A female reported she had been stabbed in the neck. She also said she was pregnant and severely injured.
The victim, a 31-year-old New Jersey resident who is 6 months pregnant, was bleeding profusely from the carotid artery. She was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police said the victim, her two children, nephew and fiancé, had returned to their relative’s home after a New Year’s Eve celebration. When she parked her motor vehicle in the driveway, she was “ambushed” by an individual, who police later identified as Naji Deneutte, 18, of Hamden. They said Deneutte stabbed the victim multiple times in the neck, as her children looked on. At least one of the stab wounds was to her carotid artery. Police said Deneutte was attempting to steal the victim’s vehicle. She was able to fend off the suspect. He ran from the scene.
After identifying Deneutte as the suspect, officers also recovered a stolen loaded firearm, which was located under his mattress. Deneutte was charged with Assault in the 1st Degree on a Pregnant Person, Criminal Attempt to Commit Carjacking, Theft of a Firearm, Criminal Possession of a Firearm and Possession of Marijuana. Deneutte, who was held on a $550,000 bond, is scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court on January 17.
