texas

Bond increased for TX woman accused of trying to drown Muslim girl in apartment pool

A woman is back in jail after a court decided to increase her bond as a need to protect the public

NBC 5 News

A woman accused of attacking two Muslim children in Euless and making racist remarks toward their mother has been rearrested.

Police charged 42-year-old Elizabeth Wolf with attempted capital murder of a child in May and she was released on a $40,000 bond. According to court records, following a public safety assessment and Wolf's criminal history, court documents revealed that the previous bond was insufficient for the charge and the need to protect the public. Wolf's bond was raised and now totals more than $1 million.

At about 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, police were called for a disturbance between two women at an apartment complex pool off State Highway 360. According to police, a woman told them she was at the pool when an intoxicated woman asked her where she was from and if the children with her were hers.

The mother said that after she answered the question, the woman tried to grab her 6-year-old son. The boy escaped the woman's grasp but had a scratch on his finger. The woman said that as she helped her son, the other woman grabbed her 3-year-old daughter and forced her underwater. The mother told police she was able to pull her daughter out of the water as she cried for help and coughed up water.

Euless medics evaluated both children on the scene and released them.

Police said the child's mother told officers Wolf accused her of not being American and made other racial statements.

At a hearing last week, Wolf's initial bond was reassessed and raised after being found insufficient. As of Wednesday, she remained in the Tarrant County Jail. The Associated Press reported Wolf's attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

New conditions were also set to her bond, including no contact with the alleged victims or visitation within 1,000 feet of the apartment complex. Wolf is to be confined at home except for meetings with counsels or doctors and is not to leave Dallas or Tarrant counties without advanced permission from the court. She is also required to be equipped with a personal alcohol monitor and GPS device and must also seek alcohol abuse treatment.

CAIR PUSHES FOR HATE CRIME DESIGNATION ON MURDER CHARGE

The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said it welcomed Wolf’s rearrest.

“CAIR-Texas remains committed to advocating for the family and the American Muslim community until justice, peace and equity are achieved,” said Shaimaa Zayan, CAIR-Austin operations manager.

The mother of the children, who wears a hijab, has said she and her family are Palestinians who became American citizens, according to CAIR. Neither police nor CAIR have released the mother’s name.

Since the arrest, local and national activists have pushed for this case to be handled as a hate crime. Euless police have said it’s requested that prosecutors in Tarrant County treat the case as a hate crime.

A district attorney’s office spokeswoman has said they are reviewing the case.

NBC 5 and The Associated Press
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