A rabid Ohio animal rights activist previously busted for trying to hire a hitman to kill a stranger wearing fur is now accused of stabbing a woman inside a church — because she too was wearing a pelt coat, officials said.
Meredith Lowell, 35, was charged with attempted murder and assault in connection with the slashing Wednesday at Fairmount Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Cleveland.com reported.
Police said Lowell allegedly attacked a babysitter who was dropping off children at the church for choir practice.
The babysitter was waiting for the kids’ practice to begin when Lowell “suddenly appeared” and assaulted her, a witness told news station WEWS.
Officers arrived to find the victim on the ground in a pool of blood, while another churchgoer restrained Lowell, according to the report.
A yellow kitchen knife was recovered from the ground near the activist, authorities said.
The babysitter was brought to the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center with two stab wounds to her arm and one in the abdomen, Cleveland.com reported.
Lowell was booked at Cleveland Heights City Jail, where she’s awaiting her first court appearance, the outlet reported.
Police said they believe Lowell was provoked by the victim’s fur coat, since she was previously arrested for attempting to hire a hitman in 2012 on Facebook to kill a random fur-wearer.
The charges were dismissed a year later because it was ruled that she was incompetent to stand trial, WEWS reported.