Family of stabbing victim says ‘prognosis is not good’

Photo released to show the ‘severity of attack’

NEW CITY, N.Y. – The family of the 72-year-old man who suffered the most serious harm of the five victims in a machete attack at a Hanukkah party said his “prognosis is not good.”

Josef Neumann has been in a coma since the attack Saturday, when he was injured in the head, neck and arm while fending off blows from a machetewielding man in what federal authorities said was a hate-fueled rampage.

“The prognosis is not good,” said

Nicky Kohen, Neumann’s youngest daughter, at a news conference outside the family home, where she was surrounded by her siblings. “He sustained multiple injuries. He has a fractured skull. He’s been sliced through his neck. He has a shattered arm.”

Kohen said her father was in surgery Thursday at Westchester Medical Center for a tracheotomy to help him with breathing and feeding.

Neumann has been unconscious since he was taken to the hospital Saturday, Kohen said.

“The doctors do not have high hopes for him,” she said.

Grafton Thomas, 37, of Greenwood Lake faces five counts of attempted intentional murder in state court, and federal hate crime charges. Thomas’ attorney said his client suffers from a mental illness, and his family said he does not have a history of anti-Semitism.

Thursday, the family released a graphic photo of Neumann in his hospital bed, showing bruising and two long gashes across his forehead over a black eye.

Kohen said the family decided to release the photo because people underestimated the extent of his injuries.

“As a family, this was a very difficult decision to us,” she said, “but we did release that photo because of the hundreds of messages I personally have received asking, ‘Is your father OK yet? Is he awake? How’s he doing?’ People did not understand the severity of this attack.”