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Inset: Zeinab Abdi (Louisville Metro Detention Center). Background: The home where Abdi allegedly tried to kill her 6-year-old daughter (WLKY).
A 40-year-old mother in Kentucky has been indicted for allegedly trying to beat her 6-year-old daughter to death with a hammer, repeatedly striking the child in the head with the tool in front of the victim”s sibling.
A grand jury in Jefferson County on Tuesday returned a true bill indicting Zeinad Abdi on one count each of criminal attempted murder, first-degree assault, and first-degree criminal abuse of a victim under age 12 for the June attack that left the victim in critical condition, Jefferson County Commonwealth Attorney Gerina D. Whethers announced.
Abdi had previously appeared in court for her arraignment on June 20, where she pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and domestic violence.
According to a post-arrest complaint previously obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department’s 2nd Division at about 12:49 p.m. on Thursday, June 19, responded to a “trouble run” at a residence in the 2900 block of Wilson Avenue. Police were told that a child had been “struck in the head with a hammer by her mother.”
Upon arriving at the address, first responders said they discovered a 6-year-old girl inside the home who was “down” and suffering from “blunt force injuries to her head.” Authorities said she had sustained “multiple skull fractures and brain bleeds.”
Emergency medical personnel transported the victim — who has not been identified by authorities — to Norton Children’s Hospital for treatment where she was admitted in critical condition.
Due to the nature of the child’s injuries, the department’s homicide unit responded to the scene and took over the investigation. Abdi was subsequently taken into custody in connection with the alleged attack on her daughter.
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“During a post-Miranda statement, the listed suspect [Abdi] stated she frequently becomes extremely angry and has difficulty controlling herself,” police wrote in the complaint. “She stated today she became overly angry and struck the victim in the head with a hammer an unknown amount of times.”
Abdi’s son, whose name and age were not disclosed, provided a similar account of the harrowing attack on his sister.
“During an interview with the listed suspect’s son, he stated while restraining her after the assault, she stated to him ‘let me finish her’ while attempting to return to the victim,” the document states.
A police spokesperson told Lexington, Kentucky, Fox affiliate WDKY that the victim was released from the hospital this week and is staying with family.
Several neighbors who spoke to Louisville CBS affiliate WLKY after the incident said they were shocked about the allegations.
“I think it’s just terrible,” neighbor Donald Edison told the station. “I don’t know what type of pressure the child’s mother is under for her to do something like that.”
Brittany Lindell, who also lives in the area, told WLKY that news of the attack gave her “cold chills,” calling it “disgusting.”
“I don’t understand how someone could get to that point of anger,” she said, adding, “especially with an innocent child.”
Abdi remains in the Louisville Metro Detention Center on bond of $500,000. She is currently scheduled to appear in court to be arraigned on the indictment in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Monday morning.
