Hanukkah slasher may get death

If comatose vic dies

The man charged in a machete attack on a suburban Hanukkah party could face the death penalty if a comatose victim dies from his wounds, a federal prosecutor said Monday.

Grafton Thomas (inset), 37, didn’t visibly react when Assistant US Attorney Michael Krouse raised the possibility of capital punishment during a court hearing in White Plains.

The most seriously injured victim of last month’s bloodbath, 72-year-old Josef Neumann, suffered a wound that “penetrated his skull directly into the brain,” his family has said.

His youngest daughter, Nicky Kohen, told The Post on Monday that Neumann remained in critical condition at Westchester Medical Center.

“The doctors can’t guarantee that he will wake up,” Kohen said.

The specter of Thomas’ potential execution emerged following an arraignment at which he pleaded not guilty to federal hate-crime charges that currently carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Thomas, who’s being held without bail, also told Magistrate Judge Paul Davison that he was taking antipsychotic and antidepressant medication in jail.

Thomas — who, his lawyer and family say, has a history of mental illness and was off his meds during the Dec. 28 rampage in Rockland County — appeared lucid and cogent while answering questions from Davison.

“Are you clear in your head as you stand here?” Davison asked Thomas.

“I am, your honor,” Thomas replied.

Defense lawyer Michael Sussman, however, told Davison he doubted that Thomas understood what he’s suspected of doing.

Thomas is accused of using an 18-inch machete to hack Orthodox Jewish men who were celebrating Hanukkah at their rabbi’s home in Monsey, with authorities alleging he kept journals that contain “anti-Semitic sentiments.”

Sussman has denied that Thomas was motivated by hate.