This photo provided by the Bloomington Police Department shows Billie Davis. Davis is accused of repeatedly stabbing an 18-year-old Indiana University student in the head on a public bus in an attack the school said was due to the victim being Asian on Jan. 11, 2023. (Bloomington Police Department via AP)
An attempted murder and other state charges have been dropped for a woman accused of repeatedly stabbing an 18-year-old Chinese-born Indiana University student in the head on a bus while that she continues to face a federal hate crime charge in what authorities have said is racist. -motivated attack.
Attempted murder, aggravated battery and battery with a deadly weapon were dismissed in the Indiana case against Billie Davis, 56, on April 25, according to online court records. She had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Kyle Dugger, an attorney who represented Davis in the state’s case, said in a January lawsuit that he was seeking an insanity defense on her behalf and that she “is unable to assist in preparation for his defense due to mental illness,” The Associated Press reported.
“SP. Davis has a long documented history of serious mental illness,” he said, according to the AP. “She was seeking help to manage her condition up until the day of the alleged attack.”
Davis was indicted by a federal grand jury last month for the Jan. 11 bombing. The indictment accuses him of willfully causing bodily harm to the victim and attempting to do so using a knife based on the victim’s race and national origin , the US Department of Justice said in a press release. The indictment also alleges the offense included an attempt to kill the victim, officials said.
Law&Crime sent an email Saturday seeking comment for an attorney listed in Federal Court documents as the attorney representing it in the federal case.
The victim told investigators she was standing and waiting for the exit doors to open on a Bloomington Transit bus when another passenger began punching her in the head, Bloomington police said in a communicated.
The attack happened at 4:45 p.m. Jan. 11 on a Bloomington Transit bus, the Bloomington Police Department said in a news release.
She told investigators that a passenger repeatedly punched her in the head, causing her “immediate pain”, as she stood up and waited for the doors of the bus to open at her stop, said officials.
Surveillance footage from the bus showed the suspect and victim had no interaction prior to the attack, police said.
After the attack, the suspect got off the bus but was eventually arrested after a witness followed her and told police her whereabouts, authorities said.
Davis was jailed for assault and battery. She was charged with attempted murder after doctors determined the victim had suffered multiple stab wounds to the head, police said.
Davis reportedly told investigators she did it because she “was Chinese” and “that would be one less person to blow up our country.”
After the attack, James Wimbush, vice president for diversity, equity, and multicultural affairs at Indiana University, said the case was a sad reminder that “anti-Asian hatred is real. and can have painful effects on individuals and our community.”
“No one should be harassed or abused because of their origin, ethnicity or heritage,” he said. “Instead, the Bloomington and IU communities are stronger because of the vast diversity of identities and perspectives that make up our campus and community culture. To our Asian and Asian American friends, colleagues, students and neighbors, we stand firmly with you.
The university’s Asian Cultural Center held an emergency meeting following news of the attack. Some students expressed concerns for their safety. Others remember times when they witnessed or experienced racial discrimination on the bus.
“We should not fear for our lives on public transport,” the center said in a statement. “Taking the bus shouldn’t be dangerous.
“The fact that the attacker announced that race was the motivation for his attack sends a jolt through our Asian community.”
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