Woman accused of trying to drown 3-year-old Muslim child is rearrested after bond increased to $1M
By Cindy Von Quednow and Dianne Gallagher, CNN
(CNN) — A woman accused of trying to drown a 3-year-old Muslim and Palestinian child in an apartment complex pool in Texas has been rearrested, inmate records show.
Elizabeth Wolf, 42, who was arrested on May 19 in connection with the accusations in the Dallas-area city of Euless, had been charged with attempted capital murder of a person under 10 years old and injury to a child, but was released after posting bail.
During a subsequent bond hearing on June 27, her bond for the attempted capital murder charge was increased to $1 million, and she was taken back into custody, Euless police Capt. Brenda Alvarado told CNN Tuesday. Wolf still was in custody Tuesday, inmate records showed.
The incident is being investigated as a hate crime, Alvarado said.
The Tarrant County district attorney’s office has received the case for filing and the matter remains under investigation, police said.
CNN has sought comment from Wolf’s attorney.
A court date is set for October 17, a docket shows.
Witnesses told police that “a woman who was very intoxicated had tried to drown a child and argued with the child’s mother” at an apartment complex pool in Euless on May 19, police had said in a news release.
Officers approached Wolf as she tried to leave, and she was taken into custody on suspicion of public intoxication, police said.
The child’s mother told police Wolf was questioning where she was from and whether the two children playing at the pool were hers, the news release said. The mother wore a hijab and modest swimwear and the family is Muslim and Palestinian, according to the Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Wolf also made statements about the mother not being an American and said racist things, police said.
“When the mother answered her … Wolf tried to grab her 6-year-old son but he pulled away from her grasp, which caused a scratch on his finger. The mother began helping her son when Wolf grabbed her 3-year-old daughter and forced her underwater,” police said in the news release.
The mother pulled her daughter from the water but she “had been yelling for help and was coughing up water,” the police news release reads.
In a release Monday, CAIR-Texas welcomed the decision to rearrest Wolf.
“The affected family and the American Muslim community are temporarily relieved to know the alleged perpetrator is in custody again. We thank local and the federal law enforcement for the rearrest and the progress in the case investigation,” CAIR-Texas Operations Manager Shaimaa Zayan said.
The-CNN-Wire
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