RALEIGH, NC — A Wake County grand jury has indicted a man on an attempted murder charge in a machete attack on an Apex teen girl whose family says was cut nearly 50 times.
Priyanka Kumari, 18, was attacked on the afternoon of Jan. 12 in front of an Apex home on Venezia Way just after she got off a school bus, Apex police said.
Kumari’s father said that the suspect, Neel Salil Mehta, who is now indicted in the case, “jumped on her … and started to cut her throat – to cut her head off” with the machete.
Mehta, 20, of Halcyon Meadow Drive in Cary was taken into custody soon after the attack. Previously, he was charged only with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill/inflicting serious injury
Kumari’s father said she suffered 46 injuries just to her face and head.
Kumari was hospitalized for nearly 10 days after the incident. Her father, Pankaj Kumar, said she is resting at home, but still has a long road ahead in her recovery.
Mehta was also indicted Tuesday on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill/inflicting serious injury.
He is being held on a $2 million bond.
A GoFundMe page has been setup to help cover medical costs. https://www.gofundme.com/Priyanka
